MARIANO IRIZARRY, Gun and Drug Offenses, Connecticut 2019

A New Haven man is heading to prison for his role in a string of gun and drug offenses that spanned several years.

MARIANO IRIZARRY, 36, was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and distributing a controlled substance while on pretrial release.

The case against Irizarry began on January 1, 2019, when New Haven Police officers responded to a disturbance and a report of an individual with a gun in front of a nightclub on Hamilton Street in New Haven.

A bystander identified Irizarry as being in possession of a gun, and after ignoring various commands from officers, he surrendered and was taken into custody.

A subsequent search of the area beneath the steering wheel of his vehicle revealed a loaded .40 caliber Glock 27 pistol, which had been reported stolen in a residential burglary in New Haven in March 2015.

Irizarry's criminal history includes felony drug convictions in 2000 and 2010, and a felony conviction in August 2000 for illegal sexual contact with a minor.

He was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on February 6, 2019, and was released on a $50,000 bond. On June 17, 2019, he sold four bags of heroin, some of which contained fentanyl, to an individual working with law enforcement.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/new-haven-man-sentenced-30-months-prison-gun-and-drug-offenses