A Kansas man was handed down a five-year federal prison sentence in connection with numerous illegal firearms being trafficked into Connecticut.
Brian Baker, 48, of Scott City, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Baker previously pleaded guilty to one count of firearms trafficking conspiracy, two counts of firearms trafficking and two counts of mailing nonmailable firearms on March 26.
Court records show that, in May 2023, members of the FBI Waterbury Safe Streets Task Force conducted three “controlled purchases” of nine firearms and one “controlled purchase” of cocaine from Luis Perez in Waterbury.
Following an extensive investigation, investigators alleged that Perez, at Baker’s direction, was acquiring firearms purchased by individuals from licensed gun dealers in Kansas and then shipped through the U.S. Mail to a Hartford location maintained by Perez’s associate, Algelly Diaz, according to court records.
“Perez then sold the firearms, which included assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to others throughout Connecticut,” officials alleged.
According to court records, Perez coordinated the purchases through Baker in Kansas and Fernando Soto, Jr. in California. “Baker, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, used straw purchasers to purchase the firearms and then shipped them to Connecticut, or to Soto, who then shipped them to Connecticut and elsewhere,” according to investigators.
Court records show that, between August 2020 and May 2023, Ramon Pichardo, one of Baker’s straw purchasers, bought at least 73 firearms from a licensed gun dealer in Deerfield, Kansas.
Baker and others involved in the alleged gun trafficking were arrested on May 19, 2023, as investigators executed search warrants at locations in Connecticut, Kansas and California.
“A search of Perez’s residence and vehicle revealed nine firearms; more than 200 rounds of ammunition; distribution quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl/heroin; items used to process and package narcotics for street sale; and more than $7,000 in cash,” court records show.
“In addition, a search of Diaz’s residence revealed approximately 90 rounds of ammunition, and a search of a package that was shipped to Diaz and seized from the mail stream revealed an additional three firearms.”
Baker has been detained since his arrest. He was sentenced this week.
“To date, approximately 34 of the trafficked firearms have been recovered by law enforcement in Connecticut and elsewhere, including one that recovered on August 27, 2022, in San Bernardino, California, at the scene of the homicide of a juvenile,” federal officials aid.
On March 19, Perez pleaded guilty to three counts of firearms trafficking, two counts of mailing nonmailable firearms, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine and one count each of firearms trafficking conspiracy and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. On April 4, a jury found him guilty of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to court records. He is awaiting sentencing.
Diaz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 48 months in prison on Feb. 4. Soto and Pichardo have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Connecticut State Police and the Waterbury, Meriden, Hartford, Manchester, East Hartford, West Hartford, and Chino (Calif.) Police Departments and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha M. Freismuth and Christopher J. Lembo through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan offered his thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for “their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”