Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ROY REID, also known as “Jama,” 34, of New Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a fentanyl trafficking offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2021, the New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and New Haven Police Department began investigating a drug trafficking ring that was distributing fentanyl, heroin crack and cocaine in and around the West Hills neighborhood, including the McConaughy Terrace housing complex, in New Haven. The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, fixed video surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics. Between June 2021 and January 2022, investigators made five controlled purchases of fentanyl from Reid.
Reid pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of fentanyl, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Nagala scheduled sentencing for December 20.
Reid was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on April 5, 2022. He is released on a $150,000 bond pending sentencing.
In November 2013, Reid was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 26 months of imprisonment for a heroin trafficking offense.
This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Task Force includes participants from the New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, East Haven Police Department, West Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Department of Correction.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony E. Kaplan and Kenneth L. Gresham through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.