Hartford Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Drugs, Violating Probation

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHARLES KELLEY, 45, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing narcotics, and for violating the conditions of his probation from a prior federal drug conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2018, law enforcement received information that Kelley was engaged in drug trafficking activity in Hartford.  On April 5, 2018, a court-authorized search of Kelley’s residence revealed approximately 66 grams of fentanyl, 42 grams of cocaine, 76 grams of crack cocaine, cocaine base, eight grams of heroin, items used to process and package narcotics for street sale, and $6,542 in cash.  Kelley was arrested on state charges at that time.

Kelley has been detained since his federal arrest on November 7, 2018.  On April 25, 2019, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”).

This is Kelley’s third federal narcotics conviction, and he was on federal probation following a conviction in January 2016 for distributing heroin and cocaine.

Judge Meyer sentenced Kelley to 36 months of imprisonment for distributing narcotics, and a consecutive 12 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his probation.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police.  The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Vatti.