Indictment Charges Stamford Man with PCP Distribution, Firearm Possession Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a three-count indictment charging JAMAINE JONES, 34, of Stamford, with PCP distribution and firearm possession offenses.

The indictment was returned on August 21, 2024.  Jones, who had been detained since state custody since his arrest by Stamford Police on February 9, 2024, appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The indictment alleges that on February 9, 2024, Jones possessed with intent to distribute phencyclidine (PCP), and possessed a loaded Beretta 9mm semi-automatic handgun.  The indictment further alleges that Jones’ criminal history includes state felony convictions for drug, robbery, and assault 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.

The indictment charges Jones with possession with intent to distribute phencyclidine, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least five years; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of 15 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  A charge is only an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stamford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, 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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.