5 New Haven Men Charged With Fentanyl Trafficking Crimes: Justice Dept

NEW HAVEN, CT — A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a superseding indictment April 6 charging five New Haven men with trafficking fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Avery and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, announced that Luis Salaman, 41, Christian Lopez, 38, Melvin Santiago, 34, Jesus Seguinot, 33 and Kelly Quinones-Adorno, 27, were charged.

The indictment was unsealed on April 10 when Lopez, Santiago, Seguinot, and Quinones-Adorno were arrested, Avery said. On that date, they appeared before a U.S. Magistrate and ordered detained pending the submission of bond proposals. Salaman has been detained since his arrest on the original indictment on April 5, 2022.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Avery said, in October 2021, the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force learned that Salaman was distributing large quantities of narcotics throughout New Haven. The investigation revealed that Salaman worked with Lopez, Santiago, Seguinot, and Quinones-Adorno to distribute fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney said. Between November 2021 and March 2022, investigators made multiple controlled purchases of distribution quantities of heroin/fentanyl from these individuals, federal prosecutors said.

Avery said the indictment charges Salaman with conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and if convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. The indictment charges Lopez, Santiago, Seguinot, and Quinones-Adorno with conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, she said. If convicted, each faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years.

The indictment also charges each defendant with one or more counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, Avery said.

In addition, the indictment alleges that Salaman is eligible for enhanced penalties because of a prior conviction for a serious violent felony, which potentially increases his mandatory minimum prison sentence to 15 years, federal prosecutors said.

Avery "stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt," adding charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members from the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the New Haven, Milford, East Haven, West Haven, and Wallingford police departments.