Large Scale Hartford Area Fentanyl Distributor Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHNNY MILNER, also known as "Blaze" and "O.G.," 46, of Hartford, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 10 years of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department received information from various sources that Milner was distributing fentanyl to street-level narcotics dealers in the SANA apartment complex located on Main Street in Hartford, which is commonly referred to as the "Sands," and that he was using locations on Prospect Avenue and Bellevue Street in Hartford to store and distribute narcotics. On February 21 and March 15, 2023, investigators made controlled purchases of approximately 100 grams of fentanyl from Milner at a liquor store he operated on Hillside Avenue in Hartford.

On March 29, 2023, investigators conducted court-authorized searches of locations in Hartford and New Britain connected to Milner. A search of the Bellevue Street apartment revealed packaged fentanyl, numerous items used to process and package narcotics, and a loaded .22 caliber Ruger rifle. A search of an apartment on Chestnut Street in New Britain that Milner used revealed approximately 64 grams of xylazine-laced fentanyl, several digital scales, a money-counting machine, and $221,301 in cash. Milner was arrested at the New Britain apartment.

Milner has been detained since his arrest. On March 12, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

On January 22, 2024, Milner's associate, James Jones, 42, who lived at the Bellevue Street apartment, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He awaits sentencing.

In July 2021, during a separate drug trafficking investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, investigators observed Milner carrying a shopping bag and entering the passenger side of a car that had just arrived at the Bellevue Street apartment. He then exited the car without the bag, but carrying a backpack. Investigators followed the car as it drove away, stopped it, and found the shopping bag. It contained $141,030 in cash, and was seized as suspected narcotics proceeds.

This matter was investigated by the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Hartford Task Force. The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.