Waterbury Man on Supervised Release Charged with Possessing Guns and Drugs

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned an indictment charging D’METRIUS JOHNSON, formerly known as D’METRIUS WOODWARD, and also known as “Meech,” 29, of Waterbury, with unlawful possession of a firearms by a felon, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The indictment was returned on June 20, 2024.  Johnson appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges.  He has been detained since his arrest on state charges on November 21, 2022.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on November 12, 2014, Johnson was sentenced in federal court to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his participation in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy.  He was released from federal prison in January 2018.  On November 21, 2022, while Johnson was on supervised release, Brookfield Police arrested him on state charges related to the theft of catalytic converters.  On that date, a search of Johnson’s Waterbury residence revealed a Ruger 57 semiautomatic pistol, a Glock 31 semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger LCP handgun, ammunition, approximately 89 grams of cocaine, and pills containing MDMA (“ecstasy”).

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.

Unlawful possession of a firearm carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Johnson faces additional penalties if he is found to have violated the conditions of his supervised release.

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

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Waterbury Police Department, with the assistance of the Brookfield Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.