Armed Hartford Drug Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL DAVIS, 34, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Davis was arrested on state charges on February 10, 2021, after law enforcement officers observed him conducting drug sales on Main Street in Hartford’s North End, and a search of his person revealed a loaded Remington Arms, model RP9, 9mm handgun, and five glass vials containing MDMA (“ecstasy”).  A related search of Davis’s vehicle revealed several vials of crack cocaine and MDMA.

Davis, who was released on bond in his state case, was again arrested on April 7, 2021,  after he was observed selling drugs in the same area of Main Street, and then tossed a plastic bag containing 48 wax sleeves of heroin from his car window as he was pursued by law enforcement.

Davis’s criminal history includes state convictions for firearm and narcotics offenses.

Davis has been detained since April 7, 2021.  He was charged federally and, on May 9, 2022, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Hartford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman with the assistance of Law Student Intern Nicholas Barile.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN 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.