A Bronx man has been sentenced to prison for helping his cousin smuggle drugs
BRIDEPORT, Conn. – Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced today that Juan Martinez, Jr., 22, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Carrie A. Dooley in Bridgeport served 12 months and one day in jail, followed by three years of supervised release, on the drug charge.
According to court documents and statements filed in court, in September 2020, law enforcement obtained court permission to install a GPS tracking device on a Volvo XC90 owned by Martinez’s cousin, Joseph Matos, which investigators learned contained a “trap” that had been used. To hide and transport narcotic substances. Matos lived both in Bridgeport and in a residence on Martha Place in the Bronx, New York. Investigators tracked the Volvo for several months as it traveled between southern Connecticut and New York, on the West Coast of the United States, and to Tijuana, Mexico.
In March 2021, the Volvo was returned to Connecticut via a car carrier from California. On March 22, 2021, investigators observed Matos as he traveled from his residence in the Bronx to a location in Trumbull where he picked up the vehicle. They stopped the car and arrested Matos after a search revealed about two kilograms of cocaine hidden in the trap. Martinez, who assisted in the Matos drug operation, was arrested the same day at a Martha’s Place residence. A search of the home revealed more than 500 grams of cocaine, approximately 50 pounds of marijuana, drug packaging materials, more than $143,000 in cash, eight firearms, silencers, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition. At the time of his arrest, Martinez was packaging contraband for removal after learning that police had stopped Matos in Connecticut.
On April 4, 2023, Martinez pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to possession with intent to distribute drugs.
Matos pleaded guilty, and on July 26, 2023, was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
This investigation was conducted by the DEA Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport office, Connecticut State Police, Bridgeport, Danbury, Milford, Norwalk, Stamford, and Stratford. Police departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Beck.
