Bridgeport Drug Dealer Sentenced In Federal Case: U.S. Attorney

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 60-year-old Bridgeport man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug trafficking and firearm offenses, U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan announced Thursday.

Gavin Hammett, also known as "G" and "Silk," received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford. Hammett has been detained since his arrest in May 2024, and in February he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, and possession of a firearm.

According to federal prosecutors, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Stamford Police Department identified Hammett in early 2024 as part of a network distributing cocaine and fentanyl in the Bridgeport area. Authorities conducted several controlled purchases of fentanyl from Hammett between February and April of that year.

At the time of his arrest, authorities searched Hammett's residence and uncovered about two kilograms of cocaine, roughly 39 grams of fentanyl, two handguns, two loaded magazines, and one empty magazine, officials said.

This is Hammett’s third federal conviction. He was previously sentenced in 1997 to 105 months in prison for cocaine distribution in South Carolina, and in 2011 to 240 months in Connecticut for distributing cocaine and crack. He was released early in 2020 after serving about nine years of the latter sentence, when a federal judge granted a motion for compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the DEA’s HIDTA Task Force, Stamford and Bridgeport police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and several local police departments. The case was prosecuted under the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program.