Hartford Drug Dealer, 26, Sent To Prison: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — A 26-year-old Hartford man was sent to prison for nearly three years by a federal judge this week for dealing narcotics and cocaine.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said Luis Ivan Diaz, 26, of Hartford, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to 33 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the Connecticut State Police obtained an arrest warrant for Diaz after his DNA was found on a gun thrown from a vehicle during a State Police pursuit on March 8, 2022.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force had also identified Diaz as a fentanyl trafficker, Avery said.

Officials said Diaz was located and arrested on state charges on Nov. 3, 2022.

At the time of his arrest, Diaz possessed approximately 35 grams of fentanyl, 23 grams of cocaine, and five grams of crack cocaine, authorities said.

Diaz was charged by indictment on April 26, 2023.

On June 6, 2023, he was arrested pursuant to a federal arrest warrant at the Hartford Superior Courthouse, where he had a pending state case.

At the time of his arrest, a search of a fanny pack he possessed revealed approximately 40 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of crack, according to Avery.

Diaz has been detained since his federal arrest. On Jan. 2, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

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