Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Hartford Man Sentenced to Prison for Straw Purchasing Firearms
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Jaime Diaz, 30, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally purchasing, possessing, and selling firearms.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between August 2020 and November 2021, Diaz purchased approximately 17 handguns from two Connecticut firearm dealers. At the time of the purchases, Diaz was an unlawful user of controlled substances. After obtaining the firearms, Diaz sold them to others in exchange for cash, as well as narcotics.
On November 30, 2021, ATF special agents interviewed Diaz and seized the only firearm that remained in his possession. Diaz sold one handgun back to the firearm dealer he had purchased it from. Another handgun that Diaz purchased was recovered by the Hartford Police Department from an individual charged with drug trafficking. The remaining 14 firearms handguns have not been recovered.
On September 7, 2022, Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and one count of dealing in firearms without a license. Diaz has been detained since April 10, 2023, when his bond was revoked.
This matter was investigated by the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Reed Durham through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Updated September 21, 2023
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