Qiyon Reed, Gun and Drug Trafficking, Connecticut 2024

QIYON REED, 35, of New Haven, is back behind bars — and facing federal prison — after pleading guilty to federal firearm and drug offenses, marking a violent relapse into crime just a year after his release from a prior sentence. Reed, also known as “Quiyon Reed” and “Gutter,” admitted in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to possessing multiple loaded handguns and distributing cocaine, shattering the terms of his supervised release.

The conviction stems from a September 12, 2018 raid by New Haven police executing a state search warrant at Reed’s residence. Officers seized two loaded nine-millimeter semi-automatic handguns — a Heritage Manufacturing Stealth C-2000 and a Smith & Wesson MP9 Shield — along with a box of .45 caliber ammunition. Also found: approximately one gram of cocaine packaged for street-level distribution and narcotics packaging paraphernalia, confirming Reed’s return to the drug trade.

Reed’s criminal path is well worn. On January 29, 2013, he was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 70 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for heroin distribution. He walked out of federal custody on October 27, 2017. Less than a year later, he was back in possession of deadly weapons and cocaine — a direct violation of federal law, which bars felons from possessing firearms or ammunition that have crossed state or international lines.

He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon — a charge carrying up to 10 years in prison — and one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence. On top of that, Reed now faces additional penalties for violating his supervised release, a breach that could tack years onto his next prison bid.

Reed has been locked up since his arrest on related state charges on September 12, 2018 — the same day the raid occurred. His sentencing is scheduled for August 20, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena L. Coronado and Marc H. Silverman, are pushing for maximum accountability.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New Haven Police Department. This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal initiative aimed at dismantling violent crime networks and reclaiming high-risk urban areas through coordinated law enforcement action. For Qiyon Reed, the message is clear: the streets gave him a second chance. He blew it.

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