Hartford Pill Pusher Gets 5 Years

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Johnattan Fernandez-Lopez, 37, a Dominican Republic citizen formerly of Hartford, is headed to federal prison for five years. U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill handed down the 60-month sentence today for Fernandez-Lopez’s central role in a Hartford-area drug trafficking ring peddling deadly narcotics.

The case, a joint effort by the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad and the FBI Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, peeled back a scheme that used unassuming neighborhood grocery stores as fronts for the distribution of oxycodone pills, counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, and a cocktail of other illicit substances. Investigators focused on three locations: the now-closed Washington Market (453 Washington Street, Hartford), JZ Tobacco (25 New Britain Avenue, Hartford), and Prestige Market (23 New Britain Avenue, Hartford).

Between January 2020 and March 2021, undercover officers made multiple controlled purchases at these stores, confirming the illegal pill sales. Fernandez-Lopez was identified as the primary seller during evening hours at JZ Tobacco, and evidence showed he possessed a firearm in connection with the operation. The investigation hit a major snag on December 20, 2020, when a vehicle registered to co-defendant Ray Urena was stopped, revealing a hidden compartment containing approximately 4,000 illegal pills and a staggering $51,000 in cash.

The net tightened on May 18, 2021, with the arrests of Urena and others. Simultaneous searches of a Hartford apartment used as a stash house, along with two associated vehicles, turned up a horrifying inventory: roughly two kilograms of fentanyl, 170 grams of heroin, over 5,000 genuine and counterfeit oxycodone pills, 2,000 Xanax pills, a kilogram of cocaine, 100 grams of crack, narcotics processing equipment, two handguns, and ammunition. A subsequent search of Urena’s Waterbury residence yielded an additional $54,000 in illicit proceeds.

Fernandez-Lopez has been held in custody since his arrest on November 10, 2021. He pleaded guilty on March 28, 2024, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Upon completion of his prison sentence, he will face immigration proceedings. Urena has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. This wasn’t a victimless crime; these pills were flooding Hartford’s streets, and the consequences are measured in overdoses and ruined lives.

The DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad – comprised of officers from Bristol, East Windsor, Hamden, New Britain, West Haven, Newington, Manchester, Glastonbury, and Watertown – and the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force (including members from the Hartford, East Hartford, New Britain, and West Hartford Police Departments, Connecticut State Police, and the Department of Correction) brought this operation to light. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr. is prosecuting the case, and will likely continue to pursue related investigations.