Waterbury Man Sentenced 57 Months in Federal Prison for Drug Distribution Offense

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JULIAN GOODMAN, 25, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 57 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl and heroin.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an ongoing investigation into gangs, drug trafficking and the illegal possession of firearms in Waterbury.  The investigation revealed that Goodman and his associate, Alex Reyes, were distributing fentanyl and heroin.  On August 26, 2021, Waterbury Police attempted to execute search warrants for Reyes’s residence and person.  Reyes, who was sitting in his car as officers approached, fled the scene, and struck two police vehicles.  He was located later that day using Goodman’s vehicle.  After Reyes was apprehended, a search of his person revealed a 9mm handgun and $1,433 in cash, and a search of Goodman’s vehicle revealed more than 80 grams of fentanyl, drug packaging materials, multiple cell phones, and $3,492 in cash.  Goodman was apprehended a short distance away.

Goodman has been detained since his arrest.  On November 28, 2022, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, heroin and fentanyl.

On December 13, 2022, Reyes pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession of a firearm by a felon.  On June 2, 2023, he was sentenced to an effective term of imprisonment of 60 months.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Connecticut State Police; the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police; the Waterbury Police Department; the Wolcott Police Department; and the Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr., and Natasha M. Freismuth.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Waterbury for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.

The 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.