Hartford Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Fentanyl Distribution and Gun Possession Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERT ALLEN, 33, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 23, 2019, Hartford Police conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle Allen was driving on Woodland Street.  A search of the car revealed a loaded Ruger LCP .380 caliber handgun and approximately 48 wax paper sleeves containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  The firearm had been reported stolen in Louisiana.

Allen’s criminal history includes state convictions for assault, firearm, drug, larceny and witness tampering offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

On July 8, 2020, Allen pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Allen, who had been released on bond pending sentencing, has been detained since August 31, 2022, after he was arrested on state narcotics and firearm offenses.  The state charges are pending.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force and the Hartford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.