Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and Enfield Police Chief Alaric Fox today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging BRANDON BLANKS, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts, with unlawful possession of a firearms and ammunition by a felon, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The indictment was returned on April 6. Blanks appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, entered a plea of not guilty, and was ordered detained.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Blanks was arrested on November 2, 2021, after he broke into an Enfield apartment carrying a loaded firearm and threatened an individual. Responding officers located a polymer80 9mm firearm (“ghost gun”) with an extended magazine containing 24 rounds of ammunition. In Blanks’ car, officers found and seized a loaded Ruger 9mm firearm and a bag containing a quantity of crack cocaine and approximately 400 bags of para-Flourofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue.
It is alleged that Blanks’ criminal history includes convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, carrying a firearm without a license, and multiple drug offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Enfield Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Durham.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.