BANGOR, Maine — Two men pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to being part of a crime ring that brought crack cocaine from Connecticut to the Bangor area to be sold and transported guns purchased illegally in Maine back to New Haven.
David “Davey” Chaisson, 23, of Bangor and Christian “P” Turner, 29, of New Haven, Connecticut, admitted to being part of the drug distribution conspiracy between January 2010 and August 2013, according to court documents.
Turner also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws, according to information posted on the court’s electronic case filing system. By pleading guilty, he admitted getting others in the conspiracy to purchase guns at pawn shops in Bangor and Brewer that were taken to Connecticut.
Chaisson and Turner each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base. Both men sold half-gram bags for $40 and gram bags for $80, according to a press release issued by the U.S. attorney’s office.
They transferred the proceeds of the sales to their source of supply in the New Haven, Connecticut, area and got cash and crack in exchange, according to court documents. The crack was transported from Connecticut to the Bangor area by other conspirators.
The indictment alleged that Turner and Garvin obtained 15 guns in Maine using straw purchasers at pawn shops and got seven more guns from individuals. The prosecution version of events to which Turner pleaded guilty did not list a specific number of guns as the indictment did.
Sentencing dates for the men have not been set. Both are being held without bail.
Both men face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million on the drug charge. Turner faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the gun charge.
Nine others were indicted in February along with Chaisson and Turner in connection with the operation. Four other people have been charged in separate cases, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Others indicted with Chaisson and Turner were Jeffrey “Tallman” Benton, 30, of Brooklyn, New York; Willie Garvin, 22, of New Haven; Jeremy Ingersoll-Meserve, 37, of Waldoboro; Jermaine “Melo” Mitchell, 43, of Orono and formerly New Haven; Torrence Benton, 27, of Windham and formerly New Haven; Jackie Madore, 34, of Rockland; Akeen “A” Ocean, 22, of Bangor; Wendell White, 48, of Rumford; and Burke Lamar, 47, of Santa Clarita, California, formerly of Bangor.
All were indicted on the drug conspiracy charge. Benton, Turner, Garvin and Ingersoll-Meserve also were charged with conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws. White also faces a charge of maintaining a drug premises at 33 Sanford St., in Bangor, that was used “for the purpose of unlawfully distributing and using controlled substances, including cocaine base,” the indictment said.
Garvin’s case was transferred to federal court in New Haven because he was facing federal charges in Connecticut. On July 30, he pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy and gun conspiracy charges that stemmed from his activities in Maine, according to court documents.
Garvin, who also was known by the nicknames “Tank” and “Black,” also pleaded guilty to the following charges stemming from incidents in the New Haven area: one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery in December 2011 and April 2013, and one count of discharging a firearm in the furtherance of a crime of violence.
Information about whether the gun or guns Garvin used in the charges to which he pleaded guilty in Connecticut came from Maine is not included in court documents. Information about what happened to the guns purchased in Maine most likely will be revealed at sentencings.
In his plea agreement with prosecutors, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with the April 2013 robbery was dropped. Garvin agreed not to appeal his sentence to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City if it is not longer than 24 years.
Torrence Benton, also known as “T-Black” and “Scotty,” and Madore have pleaded guilty in Maine to the drug conspiracy charge and are being held without bail while awaiting sentencings.
The four who were indicted separately have pleaded guilty to drug or gun charges. Brynn McLeod, 32, of Bangor was released from federal prison in March after serving a year and a day on a charge of conspiracy to make false statement to a federal firearms dealer.
Michael Campbell, 31, of Hampden and Maureen Hammond, 53, of Milford pleaded guilty to the same charge. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. She was sentenced to 24 months.
Fern Dowling, 41, of Carmel has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base. Her sentencing date has not been set.