New London Man Charged for Dealing Heroin While Serving Previous Prison Term

NEW LONDON, CT - Court officials said a New London man was sentenced Wednesday for distributing heroin. He is set to serve 43 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his charges.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Robert Cabanban Jr., 27, sold heroin to a man at his New London apartment on two occasions in September 2012. (To sign up for New London breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Investigators subsequently searched Cabanban’s apartment that same month and seized approximately 12 grams of heroin, narcotics packaging materials and a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

The suspect was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. He was sentenced in federal court to 48 months of imprisonment on July 15, 2013.

In June 2016, the Groton Town Police Department received information that Cabanban was selling heroin while out on day passes from a halfway house in Hartford. Investigators arranged a controlled purchase of 500 bags of heroin from Cabanban in July and arrested the suspect again after he arrived at a Groton motel to complete the transaction.

The suspect had been transferred from a federal Bureau of Prisons facility to a Hartford halfway house to complete his 48-month federal sentence, which was scheduled to conclude in September 2016.

The suspect pleaded guilty on January 31, 2017, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

In addition to the federal firearm conviction, Cabanban’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for possession with intent to sell narcotics and burglary.

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