Bridgeport Man Pleads Guilty to Drug-Related Firearm Possession Charge

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ORONDE JEFFERSON, 42, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 20, 2024, the FBI's Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department observed Jefferson outside a known drug location on Maple Street interacting with individuals engaging in suspected drug sales. Jefferson was arrested on state charges after he was searched and officers found him in possession of 32 individual glassine folds of fentanyl, a ziplock bag containing 71 capsules of crack cocaine, and a loaded Glock 9mm handgun equipped with a loaded high-capacity magazine.

Jefferson was arrested on related federal charges on May 9, 2025.

Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for June 11, at which time Jefferson faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Jefferson is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Stratford Police Department. The Task Force is composed of personnel from the FBI, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Trumbull Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary G. Vitale.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.