West Hartford Man Sentenced In Federal Narcotics Case

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford man was sentenced to a year-and-a-quarter in prison in a narcotics case, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Kendall Fair, 21, of West Hartford, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, in a crack and fentanyl distribution case.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2019, after a "spate of gun violence" in Hartford, the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hartford Police Department and other law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation targeting "gang-related drug distribution and associated violence" in the north end of Hartford.

Investigators determined that a significant amount of the gun violence was committed by members of two rival neighborhood street gangs, the Dumouts and the Hoodstars.

Fair was identified as a member of the Dumouts, Durham said.

Between August and September 2019, investigators made three controlled purchases of crack and two controlled purchases of crack and fentanyl from Fair, Durham said.

On Sept. 13, 2019, investigators arrested Fair at his residence and, during a search of Fair's bedroom, authorities seized approximately 15 grams of crack, a quantity of cocaine, and six bags of fentanyl, according to case records.

On April 27 of this year, Fair pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of cocaine base, also known as crack. On May 14, Fair, who had been detained since his arrest, was released on a $100,000 bond. Fair's conditions of release included that he reside with family in West Hartford, and that he confined to the home with electronic monitoring, Durham said.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 7, Hartford Police responded to a location on Huntington Street in Hartford to investigate shots fired and found Fair suffering from two gunshot wounds to his leg. Durham said. A handgun and approximately 40 different caliber shell casings were located at the scene, he added.

Fair's criminal history includes multiple felony convictions.

He also was a victim of shooting incidents in March 2018 and May 2018.

Fair was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the conclusion of today’s court proceeding.