West Hartford Man Gets Prison Time In Fed Narcotics Distribution Case

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A defendant in a federal narcotics trafficking case that involved a West Hartford arrest has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Jeimy Rodriguez, 39, of West Hartford, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2022, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was distributing kilogram quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut. The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, and other investigative techniques, Avery said.

During the early stages of the investigation, Rodriguez was the president of the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club and the probe revealed that Rodriguez and his co-defendants, including one who succeeded him as president of the Loose Cannonz, were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine for distribution in the Hartford area, according to case records.

On March 13, 2023, investigators made a controlled purchase of approximately 80 grams of fentanyl from Rodriguez at his auto repair shop on Broad Street in Hartford. On April 7, 2023, investigators purchased approximately 86 grams of cocaine from Rodriguez in the vicinity of Zion and Hamilton Streets in Hartford.Avery said. The cocaine appeared to be broken off of a kilogram brick of the drug, Avery said.

On June 7, 2023, Rodriguez was arrested at West Hartford residence. Investigators located and seized two firearms in Rodriguez's home at the time of his arrest, Avery said. On that date, a search of the Loose Cannonz club in Hartford revealed an additional quantity of fentanyl, Avery said.

Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest. On June 27, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.