Man sentenced for distributing controlled substances out of storefront

A Connecticut man was sentenced to four years in prison this week for distributing controlled substances, according to federal authorities.

Karlis Manson, 35, of Hartford, also was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to three years of supervised release, according to federal authorities.

Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said the case stemmed from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force and Hartford Police Department investigating a business at 136 Barbour St., Hartford that was suspected of trafficking narcotics.

The business, a “purported clothing store”, had an awning that read “The HOLE Ex-con 360 the movement,” according to federal authorities. In October 2022, investigators made two controlled purchases of marijuana from the store, according to federal authorities.

Manson and others were in the store in October 2022 when investigators did “a court-authorized search of the store and seized quantities of suspected crack cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, synthetic opioid films, fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone, MDMA, drug packaging and processing materials, U.S. currency, and five handguns.”

“Manson, who was found in possession of distribution quantities of fentanyl and crack cocaine, and approximately $1,000 in cash, was arrested at that time,” authorities said in a statement. A dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in Manson’s vehicle, and a search of it turned up about 400 grams of cocaine, 10 pounds of marijuana, and $8,200 in cash, authorities said in the statement.

Investigators in October 2022 also searched a U-haul storage facility in Plainville, which was rented under the name of a Manson relative, and “found documents connected to Manson, a large duffle bag containing approximately 28 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags, a suitcase containing approximately 12 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags, and approximately two pounds of phenacetin, which is used as a cutting agent for narcotics,” authorities said.

Investigators seized a safe that held six guns and a duffel bag containing about 25 pounds of marijuana, from a Vernon residence where Manson had stored the items, authorities said.

Manson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in September 2023. He is free on a $100,000 bond and must report to prison on January 17, 2023, authorities said.

The investigation was done by the DEA’S Hartford Task Force and the Hartford Police Department, with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The DEA Task Force includes members from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, Connecticut State Police, and Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments.