Source: United States Department of Justice News
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NOEL PEREZ, 25, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 18 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his federal supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 29, 2018, Hartford Police stopped a vehicle Perez was driving on Wadsworth Street. A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded .40 caliber handgun, which had a laser sight attached to its barrel. On December 4, 2018, Perez, whose criminal history includes felony convictions for assault, burglary and larceny offenses, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm by a felon. On November 20, 2019, while he was released on bond and awaiting sentencing, Perez was arrested by Hartford Police after he was found in possession of heroin and nearly $900 in cash. In addition, a gun was discovered in the driveway where he and two associates stood before they ran from police. Perez’s bond was revoked and, on July 20, 2020, Judge Meyer sentenced him to 24 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
Perez was released from federal prison on December 31, 2020, and began his term of supervised release. On April 28, 2021, Hartford Police officers observed Perez driving a car and, with two associates, engaging in drug transactions from the car. After officers attempted to stop Perez’s vehicle, Perez put the car in reverse and then ran from the car and was apprehended after he attempted to jump over a fence. A search the vehicle revealed narcotics and two loaded “ghost” guns.
Perez has been detained since his arrest. On April 28, 2022, he pleaded guilty in state court to firearm possession and narcotics distribution offenses and was sentenced to 34 months of imprisonment. Judge Meyer ordered the 18-month federal sentence to run consecutively to the state sentence.
Following his release from federal prison, Perez will be on supervised release for an additional 18 months, the first three months of which he must serve in a halfway house.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, 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.