STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in prison for his involvement in the distribution of cocaine, opioids and heroin, and for ammunition possession, according to federal officials.
Luis Martinez, 55, also known as “Macho,” received 63 months behind bars and three years of supervised release, a news release from the U.S. Attorney of the District of Connecticut said. Martinez’s criminal history includes state convictions for manslaughter, assault, weapons and larceny offenses, and a federal conviction related to his role in a crack cocaine ring, according to the news release.
Martinez was found to be supplying a narcotics distributor with cocaine and opioid pills after a 2017 investigation by Bridgeport police and the FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, the news release said. The investigation involved wiretaps and controlled drug buys, and resulted in federal charges against 19 people and the seizure of drugs and packing material, as well as eight guns and more than $360,000 in cash, according to the news release.
A subsequent but unrelated investigation revealed Martinez was also acquiring and distributing heroin, the news release said.
Martinez was arrested Nov. 6, 2018, the same day investigators searched his home and took boxes of 0.45-caliber hollow-point ammunition and $11,132 in cash, according to the news release. He has been detained since his arrest and pleaded guilty Oct. 25, 2019, to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, the news release said.
Martinez was ordered to forfeit the cash and ammunition seized on the day of his arrest, according to the news release, which said he previously forfeited more than $56,000 in cash that he shipped to a drug supplier in California, but that was seized by law enforcement at a parcel delivery hub.
