Stratford Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Drug and Firearm Offenses

 John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS MARTINEZ, also known as “Macho,” 55, of Stratford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to 63 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for narcotics distribution and ammunition possession offenses.  

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2017, members of the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department began investigating individuals who were distributing narcotics in and around Bridgeport.  The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of narcotics, resulted in federal charges against 19 defendants and the seizure of narcotics, items used to process and package drugs for street sale, eight firearms, and more than $360,000 in cash.  The investigation revealed that Martinez was supplying another narcotics distributor with cocaine and opioid pills.

A subsequent investigation of an unrelated drug distributor revealed that Martinez was also acquiring and distributing heroin.

Martinez was arrested on November 6, 2018.  On that date, investigators searched Martinez’s residence and seized boxes of .45 caliber hollow-point ammunition and $11,132 in cash.

Martinez has been detained since his arrest.  On October 25, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

Martinez’s criminal history includes state convictions for manslaughter, assault, weapons and larceny offenses, and a federal conviction stemming from his role in a crack cocaine distribution ring.

Judge Thompson ordered Martinez to forfeit the cash and ammunition seized on the date of his arrest.  Martinez previously forfeited more than $56,000 in cash that he had shipped to a drug supplier in California, but was seized by law enforcement at a parcel delivery hub.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department, as well as the DEA, Connecticut State Police, and the Stratford, Norwalk, Seymour and Trumbull Police Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Patrick J. Doherty through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  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.