Hartford Crack Dealer Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 09, 2013 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that Kewan Woodson, also known as “Piggy” and “Pig,” 20, of Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from Operation Vinefield, a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in Hartford’s North End. As a result of the nine-month investigation, 38 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine and the unlawful possession and dealing of firearms in and around Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Woodson sold crack cocaine in the area of Enfield Street area in Hartford.
During the investigation, intercepted calls over a court-authorized wiretap indicated that Woodson may have been targeted by a rival group operating in the Garden Street area of Hartford. On January 10, 2012, four men were shot in front of a residence at 117-119 Enfield Street. Images from fixed surveillance cameras revealed that two shooters arrived on the scene by foot and shot into a crowd with a rifle and a shotgun. Woodson was in the area before the shooting, but left moments before the gunmen arrived. At the time, Woodson was the subject of an ongoing unrelated investigation into a shooting incident in the summer of 2010. Hartford Police detectives obtained a warrant for Woodson and arrested him that day to remove him as a target of further violence.
On April 11, 2012, Woodson pleaded guilty in state court to attempted assault in the first-degree and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was sentenced to three years of incarceration and seven years of special parole.
On December 6, 2012, Woodson pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).
Judge Hall ordered Woodson to begin serving his 36-month federal sentenced after he completes his state sentence.
This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian P. Leaming.