Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that D'Metrius Johnson, also known as "Meech," has been sentenced to five years in prison. The 30-year-old from Waterbury was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport for unlawfully possessing firearms as a felon and violating the conditions of his supervised release following a previous federal conviction.
Court documents reveal that Johnson was initially sentenced on November 12, 2014, to five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release due to his involvement in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy. He was released from federal custody in January 2018. However, on November 21, 2022, while still under supervision, he was arrested by Brookfield Police on state charges related to catalytic converter thefts. During this time, authorities searched his residence and discovered firearms including a Ruger 57 semiautomatic pistol and a Glock 31 semiautomatic pistol, along with ammunition and drugs such as cocaine and MDMA pills.
Federal law prohibits individuals previously convicted of felony offenses from possessing firearms or ammunition that have traveled through interstate or foreign commerce.
Johnson has remained detained since his arrest and pleaded guilty on November 14, 2024, to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The investigation into this case involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) alongside the Waterbury Police Department with assistance from the Brookfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren C. Clark prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing gun violence and other violent crimes through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. In May 2021, the Justice Department enhanced its strategy for reducing violent crime under PSN based on principles such as fostering community trust and supporting organizations focused on violence prevention.
For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods visit www.justice.gov/psn.
