Hartford Man Sent To Prison For Gun, Drug Convictions: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford man will spend nearly six years behind bars after being sentenced in federal court Tuesday for narcotics and firearms convictions.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, saidStandford Smith, also known as “Pops,” 35, of Hartford, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford to 69 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

The sentence is for narcotics distribution and firearm possession offenses, and for violating his conditions of supervised release that followed a prior federal conviction, Avery said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2021, Smith was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 55 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for his role in a gun trafficking ring and for distributing crack cocaine.

He was eventually released from prison in February 2022.

According to federal authorities, on June 2, 2023, Hartford police arrested Smith in the parking lot of a motel on West Service Road in Hartford.

Avery said Smith possessed a loaded Ruger LCP Max .380 caliber firearm in his pants pocket, and a search of his vehicle revealed more than 30 fentanyl pills, approximately 23 grams of crack cocaine, and a digital scale.

It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Smith has been detained since his arrest.

On July 9, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The judge sentenced Smith to 57 months of imprisonment for the narcotics and firearm offenses, and a consecutive 12 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

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