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, has announced that Joshuwa Diaz, a 34-year-old resident of New Haven, entered a guilty plea in a narcotics trafficking case. The plea was made before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford.
Court documents and statements revealed that Diaz was apprehended on February 16, 2024, following a search of his apartment on Orange Street in New Haven. Authorities discovered approximately 75 grams of fentanyl, 278 grams of cocaine, 47 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded P80 handgun without a serial number, commonly referred to as a "ghost gun."
Diaz admitted guilt to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl. This charge carries a potential maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Sentencing is set for May 7 by Judge Oliver.
Currently released on a $50,000 bond awaiting sentencing, Diaz has a prior conviction from April 2013 when he was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for heroin distribution.
The investigation into Diaz's activities was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force. This task force comprises members from several agencies including the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and police departments from New Haven and surrounding areas such as Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Keefe is prosecuting the case.