Chaz Dear, Federal Gun Possession, Connecticut 2020

Bridgeport Gang Member Sentenced to 78 Months for Federal Gun Possession Offense

Leonard C. Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHAZ DEAR, also known as Spazz, 24, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a loaded handgun.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in late 2019, law enforcement received information that Dear, who was on state parole, was selling marijuana. Investigators subsequently made a controlled purchase of marijuana from Dear. On January 30, 2020, Dear was arrested after a court-authorized search of his residence revealed a Glock 27, .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition, as well as small quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.

Dear has been a member of the Greene Homes Boyz (GHB/Hotz), a gang based in the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeport’s North End, and his criminal history includes state felony convictions for narcotics, weapon and larceny offenses. In text messages in the weeks prior to his arrest in this case, Dear and other GHB/Hotz members discussed their prior and planned shootings of rival gang members. Judge Bryant found that, in the approximately six months Dear was on state parole prior to his arrest, he was dealing narcotics and firearms, and that the Glock 27 he possessed had the potential to aid those other felony offenses.

Dear has been detained since his arrest. On March 31, 2021, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs. PSN is the centerpiece of the nation’s violent crime reduction efforts.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: CHAZ DEAR; Criminal Charges: Possession of a firearm by a felon; City and State: Bridgeport, Connecticut; Exact Date: January 30, 2020; Sentence or Outcome: 78 months in prison; Dollar Amounts: None applicable.

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