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Kendall Jones, age 32, of Hartford, was sentenced on Tuesday, Sept. 28, after pleading guilty to the crimes in April, said Leonard C Boyle, acting US Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in September and October 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, along with state and local law enforcement officers, conducted an operation in response to a recent spike in drug-related violence in Hartford’s North End.
Jones was identified during the operation as an active drug dealer.
In October, investigators sought to arrest Jones on a state arrest warrant and observed him at a gas station on Albany Avenue in Hartford engaging in what appeared to be drug transactions.
As task force officers approached Jones, he ran and discarded a black leather shoulder bag, prosecutors said. Jones was apprehended after a short chase.
A search revealed approximately eight grams of crack cocaine and a quantity of marijuana, and the discarded shoulder bag contained a loaded .22 caliber Ruger semiautomatic handgun.
The handgun has been reported stolen in North Carolina in July 2020.
Jones’ criminal history includes state convictions for drug, firearm, robbery, and larceny offenses.
While released on bond in the federal case, Jones was arrested on state narcotics charges on Friday, April 9, after he was again observed making drug sales in Hartford. He has been detained since his arrest.
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