New Haven Man Sentenced to More Than 21 Years for Crack Distribution Conspiracy

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jermaine Mitchell, a/k/a “Melo,” 44, of New Haven, Connecticut, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 260 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack.”   He was convicted following a six-day jury trial on June 27, 2016.

The trial evidence revealed that between January 2010 and August 2013, the defendant was part of a conspiracy that acquired crack cocaine in New Haven and brought it into the Bangor area where it was distributed through a network of New Haven dealers staying in the Bangor area and local residents.  Proceeds of the sales were transported back to New Haven and used to purchase, among other things, more crack cocaine to send to Bangor. The defendant and his cousin, Jeffrey Benton, also of New Haven, organized the crack distribution business.  At the time, Benton was a member of the Red Side Guerilla Brims, a New Haven street gang affiliated with the Almighty Blood Nation.

The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the New Haven, Connecticut Office of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the City of New Haven Department of Police Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Spector and Peter Markle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting a related case.