Newington Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Role in Coast-to-Coast Cocaine Trafficking Ring

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JERMAINE JENKINS, 34, formerly of Newington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring.

This matter stems from a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Drug Enforcement Administration into a drug trafficking organization that involved individuals in California using the U.S. Mail and commercial carriers to send large quantities of cocaine to co-conspirators in the Hartford area who sold the narcotics for profit.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Joseph Miller of Los Angeles, formerly of East Hartford, sent kilogram parcels of cocaine from California to JENKINS, Luther Nance and their associates in Connecticut.  JENKINS, Nance and others then distributed the cocaine, or converted the cocaine into crack for street sale.

The investigation revealed that certain co-conspirators traveled to California with a large amount of cash to finance the purchase of cocaine.  Co-conspirators also made numerous cash deposits into local bank accounts, as well as wire transfers.  The cash deposits were made at several branches of the same bank in the Hartford area in amounts of less than $10,000 in order to evade the bank’s currency transaction reporting requirements.

On November 14, 2013, a federal grand jury returned two-count indictment charging JENKINS, Miller and six other defendants.

On June 27, 2013, a federal grand jury returned a 51-count superseding indictment charging Nance and 14 other individuals with narcotics conspiracy and related offenses stemming from the sale of crack cocaine and heroin in several communities throughout Connecticut.

JENKINS’ criminal history includes a federal conviction in 2006 for distributing crack cocaine, and he was on federal supervised release at the time of this most recent offense.  On July 21, 2013, U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant revoked JENKINS’ bond and sentenced him to an additional 18 months of imprisonment.  He has been detained since October 23, 2013.

On October 14, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Miller and Nance have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, and the Hartford, Willimantic, East Hartford, Enfield and Middletown Police Departments.