Hartford Man Sentenced for Selling Heroin, Firearm

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYLON CEASAR, 20, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing heroin and illegally selling a firearm.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the sentencing occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on five occasions in November and December 2018, law enforcement made five controlled purchases of heroin and crack cocaine from Ceasar in the vicinity of his Putnam Street residence.  Some of the purchased heroin contained fentanyl.  Ceasar also sold a firearm to a government witness on January 3, 2019.

Ceasar was arrested on criminal complaint on January 17, 2019.  Investigators seized a small quantity of crack from Ceasar’s residence at the time of his arrest.  After his arrest, Ceasar was released on bond under a condition that he wear a GPS monitoring device.

Ceasar has been detained since August 14, 2019, after, as the government alleges and Judge Bryant today found, he shot at another person and accidently struck an associate on August 13.  The state charges against Ceasar stemming from this incident were dismissed.

On November 6, 2019, Ceasar pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of distribution of heroin.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department.  The Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.

This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.