New York Man Sentenced on Federal Drug Charge

PORTLAND, Maine:  A Brooklyn, New York man was sentenced today in federal court for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and heroin, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Edward Canty III, aka “Demo,” 32, to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release. A jury found Canty guilty on October 24, 2019, following a four-day trial.

According to trial evidence, between September 2016 and December 2016, Canty and others conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base and heroin transported from outside Maine for distribution in Portland.

At the time of his participation in the conspiracy in Maine, Canty was on federal supervised release for a federal drug trafficking conspiracy charge out of New York. He and another conspirator, Akeem Cruz, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, assaulted another individual during the drug conspiracy. In commenting on Canty’s engagement in violence, Chief Judge Levy noted the assault and then added, “Selling heroin to heroin addicts requires a certain level of callousness.”

Another conspirator who was also found guilty at trial, Melquan Jordan, 31, also of Brooklyn, New York, has yet to be sentenced.

The Portland and South Portland Police Departments; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the FBI investigated the case.