Score:   1
Docket Number:   D-CT  3:18-cr-00285
Case Name:   USA v. Vazquez
  Press Releases:
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANIEL VAZQUEZ, also known as “Chino,” 21, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a gun trafficking ring and a shooting in 2016.

This matter stems from an investigation headed by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department into drug trafficking and related acts of violence by a group of individuals operating out of the Mayberry Village housing complex in East Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, sometime in or before 2014, Vazquez and others were robbed at gunpoint while they were attempting to purchase marijuana that they intended to redistribute.  On July 6, 2016, Vazquez saw the person who had robbed him driving a car at the intersection of Tolland Street and Moore Avenue in East Hartford and shot at him.  Vazquez was arrested on that date, and a search of his residence revealed a Ruger LC93 9mm handgun, which he had used in the shooting, and a Taurus 9mm handgun.

The investigation revealed that Courtney Johnson had moved from East Hartford to Minot, North Dakota.  In late June 2016, Lawrence Christie, an East Hartford resident who was staying with Johnson in Minot, contacted Vazquez and asked him to drive from Connecticut to North Dakota to assist Christie in purchasing firearms.  Vazquez and Justin Gay, also from East Hartford, then drove to North Dakota where they stayed with Johnson.  In Minot, Vazquez, Christie, Johnson, Gay and others, sometimes using counterfeit currency, purchased firearms from sellers who had advertised the guns for sale on a website.  Vazquez, Christie and Gay then transported five firearms from North Dakota to Connecticut.  Two of the five guns purchased in North Dakota were found in Vazquez’s residence on July 6, 2016.

To date, investigators have traced a total of nine firearms that were obtained in North Dakota and transported to Connecticut.  Some of the guns have been used in shootings in the Hartford area.  Investigators also purchased and seized quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana during the investigation.

Vazquez has been detained since his arrest on July 6, 2016.  He previously pleaded guilty in state court to possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration.  On November 13, 2018, Vazquez pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Johnson, Christie and Gay have pleaded guilty to firearm and drug offenses related to this scheme and await sentencing.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Correction and the Minot (N.D.) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and East Hartford Police Chief Scott M. Sansom announced that DANIEL VAZQUEZ, also known as “Chino,” 21, of East Hartford, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This matter stems from an investigation headed by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department into drug trafficking and related acts of violence by a group of individuals operating out of the Mayberry Village housing complex in East Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, sometime in or before 2014, Vazquez and others were robbed at gunpoint while they were attempting to purchase marijuana that they intended to redistribute.  On July 6, 2016, Vazquez saw the person who had robbed him driving a car at the intersection of Tolland Street and Moore Avenue in East Hartford and shot at him.  Vazquez was arrested on that date, and a search of his residence revealed a Ruger LC93 9mm handgun, which he had used in the shooting, and a Taurus 9mm handgun.

The investigation revealed that Courtney Johnson had moved from East Hartford to Minot, North Dakota.  In late June 2016, Lawrence Christie, an East Hartford resident who was staying with Johnson in Minot, contacted Vazquez and asked him to drive from Connecticut to North Dakota to assist Christie in purchasing firearms.  Vazquez and another associate then drove to North Dakota where they stayed with Johnson.  In Minot, Vazquez, Christie, Johnson and others, sometimes using counterfeit currency, purchased firearms from sellers who had advertised the guns for sale on a website.  Vazquez and others then transported five firearms from North Dakota to Connecticut.  Two of the five guns purchased in North Dakota were found in Vazquez’s residence on July 6.

To date, investigators have traced a total of nine firearms that were obtained in North Dakota and transported to Connecticut.  Some of the guns have been used in shootings in the Hartford area.  Investigators also purchased and seized quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana during the investigation.

Vazquez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on February 5, 2018, at which time he faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of seven years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Vazquez has been detained since his arrest on July 6, 2016.  He previously pleaded guilty in state court to possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration.

Johnson, 23, and Christie, 28, have pleaded guilty to firearm and drug offenses related to this scheme and await sentencing.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Correction and the Minot Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.

Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GFxvHuswWX1NxGtj-USXHPtAey-xlTk1JQ_EWTTvmo4
  Last Updated: 2024-03-30 20:37:43 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The number of days from the earlier of filing date or first appearance date to proceeding date
Format: N3

Description: The number of days from proceeding date to disposition date
Format: N3

Description: The number of days from disposition date to sentencing date
Format: N3

Description: The code of the district office where the case was terminated
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant at the time the case was closed
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense that carried the most severe disposition and penalty under which the defendant was disposed
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with TTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with TTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with TTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with TTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The code indicating the nature or type of disposition associated with TTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The number of months a defendant was sentenced to prison under TTITLE1
Format: N4

Description: A code indicating whether the prison sentence associated with TTITLE1 was concurrent or consecutive in relation to the other counts in the indictment or information or multiple counts of the same charge
Format: A4

Description: The number of months of probation imposed upon a defendant under TTITLE1
Format: N4

Description: A period of supervised release imposed upon a defendant under TTITLE1
Format: N3

Description: The fine imposed upon the defendant at sentencing under TTITLE1
Format: N8

Description: The total prison time for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and prison time was imposed
Format: N4

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
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