Hartford Man Who Possessed Loaded Guns and Drugs While on State Parole Sentenced to 32 Months in Federal Prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ, 25, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to approximately 32 months of imprisonment, time already served, and three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing firearms.

According to court documents and statements made, on November 19, 2020, Rodriguez’s state parole officer, with the assistance of Hartford Police, conducted an unannounced search of Rodriguez’s Hartford residence and found distribution quantities of crack cocaine and fentanyl, two loaded semi-automatic handguns, and $9,436 in cash.  One for the handguns had been reported stolen in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Rodriguez’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for larceny and burglary 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.

Rodriguez has been detained since November 19, 2020.  On May 9, 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Correction Division of Parole and Community Services.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gresham.

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.