California Man Who Trafficked Narcotics to Connecticut Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal Prison
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JONATHAN GARCIA, also known as “Gordo,” 37, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 78 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for trafficking narcotics into Connecticut.
In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was distributing kilogram quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, and other investigative techniques, revealed that the organization was receiving narcotics from sources in California via Mexico. In February 2023, investigators seized two parcels that were mailed by a member of the organization from a post office in West Hartford to addresses in southern California. One of the packages contained approximately $6,500 in cash and two new Apple iPhones, and the second package contained approximately $38,300 in cash.
The investigation further revealed that that members of the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club, based in East Hartford, were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine for distribution in the Hartford area.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Garcia and another individual were coordinating the shipment of kilogram-quantities of narcotics from Mexico to Connecticut. Garcia sometimes traveled to Connecticut to facilitate the transactions and to collect drug proceeds.
Garcia was arrested on October 24, 2023. On August 11, 2025, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Garcia, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on April 22.
Garcia’s criminal history includes a federal cocaine trafficking conviction in the Central District of California in 2017.
This investigation has been conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reed Durham and Robert Dearington.
