Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution and Gun Possession Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDUARDO COLON, 34, of Manchester, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 3, 2022, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made a controlled purchase of 1,000 wax sleeves of fentanyl from Colon in front of his Manchester residence on Buckland Hills Road.  Later that day, a court-authorized search of Colon’s residence revealed approximately 2,100 sleeves of fentanyl, approximately 250 grams of unpackaged fentanyl, and a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.

Colon’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for narcotics offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Colon pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 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, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Manchester Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Reed Durham.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: Fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.