Hartford Man Charged with Distributing Fentanyl

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody today announced that JOHNNY MILNER, also known as “Blaze” and “O.G.,” 45, of Hartford, was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Following his arrest, Milner appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and was ordered detained.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement received information from various sources that Milner was distributing fentanyl to street-level narcotics dealers in the SANA apartment complex located on Main Street in Hartford, which is commonly referred to as the “Sands,” and that he was using locations on Prospect Avenue and Bellevue Street in Hartford to store and distribute narcotics.  On February 21 and March 15, 2023, investigators made controlled purchases of 100 grams of fentanyl from Milner.

In association with Milner’s arrest, investigators conducted court-authorized searches of locations in Hartford and New Britain connected to him.  A search of an apartment on Chestnut Street in New Britain that Milner uses revealed approximately 70 grams of fentanyl and $221,296 in cash.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force.  The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.