Man sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for selling heroin, fentanyl to Enfield overdose victims

HARTFORD — A 29-year-old man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to selling heroin and fentanyl to two men who died of drug overdoses.

Christopher Barreto, of Hartford, was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea, according to a statement from John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the state of Connecticut.

In August he pled guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin, the statement said.

On Aug. 26, 2016, a 31-year-old man was found dead in an upstairs bedroom of an Enfield home. Police, who responded with emergency medical personnel, searched the room and found packaging that was suspected to contain heroin. The Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner ruled the victim died from acute fentanyl and ethanol intoxication, the statement said.

Hartford man indicted for selling heroin and fentanyl to 2 Enfield men who died of overdoses

A day later, a 36-year-old man was found unresponsive outside an Enfield home and later died at the hospital. Police who responded to that scene also found packaging that contained trace amounts of heroin and the medical examiner ruled he died of the combined effects of fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl and heroin, the statement said.

Using cell phone records from both victims and other evidence, police determined Barreto sold the heroin to different dealers who then sold it to the victims.

His arrest stemmed from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who sold drugs that later killed people. At the time of the arrest, police seized about 2,000 packages of heroin from Barreto’s house, the statement said.

After finishing jail term for manslaughter, Westfield man must warn others about danger of sharing lethal drugs

Barreto has been detained since Oct. 22, when his bond was revoked.

The crime was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Enfield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis.