Crime & Safety

PD: Drug Collar Nets Small Arsenal of Weapons, Ammo in North End

Middletown Police arrested a 24-year-old suspected drug dealer on Aug. 30 after finding a significant stash of guns, marijuana and stolen items.

Editor's Note: Police will hold a press conference Monday afternoon. See here for the full report and video.

On Aug. 30 at 4:28 p.m., members of the Middletown Police Department’s Street Crime Unit, Investigative Services Division and the Patrol Division served a search warrant on Vincent A. Sullivan, 24, at his home at 498 High Street and his car, according to the report.

Officers approached Sullivan in front of his home near his car and a search turned up 40 items, including a loaded Stag Arms AR15 assault rifle, loaded Mossberg 590 12-gauge shotgun, 11 thirty-round high .223 caliber rifle magazines each loaded with 30 rounds, multiple boxes of ammunition of varying caliber, a stolen loaded Smith and Wesson .40 cal., a Taser M26, SOG machete, knife with interchangeable blades, several laptops and cell phones, a bullet-proof vest and $14,180 in cash.

The AR15, according to police, is a banned assault weapon under 1993 regulations and couldn't have been purchased before since Stag Arms was founded in 2003.

Also found were 1.6 pounds of marijuana (street value of $15,000), suspected diamonds in a prescription bottle, .18 ounce of hallucinogenic mushrooms worth $200, a diamond analyzer, digital scale and other items, according to the report.

While searching the home, police discovered Sullivan had security cameras covering the entrances to the apartment, where he lived with his fiancé and infant child. They were not home at the time the search warrant was served.

Sullivan had the materials for packing the marijuana in and around the apartment, according to the report, and items were found in the attic, Sullivan’s bedroom and living room.

A labor department check revealed Sullivan had made just under $12,000 in the last four years, police indicate, and one of the MacBooks recovered had been stolen in April 2012 from a Wesleyan University student.

At the station, police say, Sullivan said he acquired the assault rifle through a private sale in Brooklyn and the Smith and Wesson was given to him from a Cromwell man in exchange for debt and bought the shotgun from a shop in Newington. The report says Sullivan bought the marijuana for $3,000 and planned to sell it for $3,300.

Sullivan was charged with possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana, possession of a hallucinogen, possession of marijuana, hallucinogen, and drug paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of a school zone, possession of marijuana and a hallucinogen with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, illegal possession of an assault weapon, risk of injury to a minor, fourth-degree larceny, possession of a stolen firearm, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and a cellular phone without a hands-free device.

He is being held on a million-dollar bond.

The Connecticut Judicial website says Sullivan has two pending cases in court, including marijuana sale and possession from July 2012 in Middletown and second-degree assault, risk of injury and breach of peace from an April 2012 incident in New London.

The above police report is obtained directly from the Middletown Police public information officer and reflects charges filed, not convictions.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.