A Trumbull man faces charges after he admitted to trading guns for drugs to his dealer in Bridgeport to fuel his drug habit. Gregg Cavalier, 58, of 29 Plumb St.1>, Trumbull, was arrested Thursday after he admitted to Bridgeport members of the State Police Gangs Unit that he traded two guns to his crack cocaine dealer.
He turned over two other handguns he still had in his possession. “This was great investigative work, following leads and identifying one of the sources of the handguns that plague our city. It was only a matter of time before the other two guns ended up on the street in the hands of criminals,” said Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. “I think that this investigation saved lives.” The investigation that led to Cavalier began Thursday in a pre-dawn raid by the gang unit and the Bridgeport Emergency Services Unit. They executed a warrant in a second-floor apartment at 242 Parrott St.
As police investigated, they learned that the gun was provided by a male fromTrumbull and was traded for drugs. Police pursued leads throughout the day. Lewis provided information about from where the gun gun came. Police subsequently determined that in February 2013, police made a separate arrest of a man and recovered a .45 caliber gun, extra magazines, and several boxes of .45 caliber and .38 caliber ammunition. That gun was seized from Andy Marte, who was arrested, and the gun also was traced back to Cavalier. At the time, Cavalier was contacted and he told police that he checked his house and only then realized the gun was missing. Police told him to contact Trumbull police to report it missing.
When interviewed by gang unit members, Cavalier admitted that he traded the two guns, along with extra magazines, ammunition and a holster, to his drug dealer, whom he knew as Andy. Cavalier was cooperative and told police he was still in possession of two other guns, which he turned over. He also acknowledged that he knew he was filing a false report when he reported the guns stolen to Trumbull police. “The community has asked where these guns are coming from. There is no single answer but this arrest illustrates that this is not just an urban problem,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “Guns from the suburbs are finding their way into the hands of criminals in our cities. This is just the latest example of why we need to strengthen our gun laws to hold accountable both the people who commit violence on our streets but also the people who provide the means.”
Officer Robert Fumiatti was shot in the face in 2002 by a drug dealer. The gun came from a Milford addict who traded it for drugs. Fumiatti survived but died at 35 years old in 2007 from his injuries. Lewis faces drug and narcotic counts and was held on $300,000 bond.
Cavalier was charged with illegal trafficking of a firearm, two counts of carrying a pistol without a permit and two counts of illegal transfer of a firearm.