West Hartford Man Sentenced To Prison For Distributing Heroin

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A convicted felon has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for distributing heroin while he was on supervised federal release, according to authorities. Nelson Marquez, 31, of West Hartford, was also sentenced Wednesday to three years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force received information that David Alvarado, also known as “Flaco,” was distributing heroin to street-level dealers and drug customers in the vicinity of his residence on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford. Between August 2014 and May 2015, investigators made eight controlled purchases of heroin from Alvarado. A wiretap investigation revealed that Alvarado supplied Marquez both with raw heroin and heroin packaged for distribution, which Marquez distributed to his own customers, according to Durham.

“On May 26, 2015, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Alvarado’s residence and seized raw heroin, bagged heroin, heroin stamps, digital scales, thousands of wax folds, and other items used to process and package heroin,” Durham wrote in a press release. “Investigators also seized a 9mm Beretta pistol with a loaded magazine, and numerous rounds of ammunition.”

Durham said Marquez’s criminal history includes a federal conviction for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. On May 7, 2010, Marquez was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 42 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for that offense. He was released from federal prison in June 2012 and was on federal supervised release while he engaged in the recent heroin trafficking, according to Durham.

Marquez has been detained since his arrest on Nov. 1, 2016. He pleaded guilty last May to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

Alvarado has pleaded guilty to a related charge and awaits sentencing.

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