New London man sentenced to five years in prison for gun and drug trafficking crime
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Nov. 29—A New London man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison plus three years of supervised release for "possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime," U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.
U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced Giovanni Sierra, 29.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office, court documents and statements showed that on April 15, 2021, New London police saw Sierra conducting what looked like a narcotics transaction from his car.
Police stopped the car for a motor vehicle violation and found a loaded "ghost gun," a privately made and unregistered gun. The U.S. Attorney's office said investigators also found "distribution quantities of crack cocaine and fentanyl, two digital scales, and other narcotics paraphernalia."
At the time, New London police said that officers with the city's Quality of Life Initiative arrested Sierra in the area of Willetts Avenue and Montauk Avenue, and he was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal possession of a firearm, and possession of weapons in a motor vehicle.
Police said they seized about 8 grams of crack cocaine, 1.6 grams of cocaine, scales, a 9mm handgun with ammunition, and $840 in cash.
Sierra has been detained since his arrest on May 11, 2021 and pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and New London police conducted the investigation.
