New Haven Drug Trafficking Ring Member Gets 18 Months In Prison: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT —Known as “L.A.” and “Key,” Kishon Shields, 25, of New Haven, will serve 18 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a drug trafficking ring, the U.S. Attorney said.

According to U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery, court documents, and statements made in court, in the fall of 2021, the New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and police were investigating a "drug trafficking ring that was distributing fentanyl, heroin crack and cocaine in and around the West Hills neighborhood, including the McConaughy Terrace housing complex located on South Genesee Street in New Haven."

The U.S. Attorney said the probe, using court-authorized wiretaps, fixed video surveillance and controlled drug purchases, found "a member of the conspiracy was receiving heroin and fentanyl from an out-of-state supplier." And also "kilogram quantities of cocaine through the U.S. Mail from a source in Puerto Rico," per Avery.

Shields and his co-conspirators packaged fentanyl and crack at the McConaughy Terrace housing complex, and referred customers to one another in order to distribute the drugs from that location, the U.S. Attorney said.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately 19 kilograms of cocaine, more than 7,000 bags of fentanyl, five firearms, and more than $780,000 in cash, Avery said.

In February 2022, a New Haven grand jury indicted Shields and seven co-defendants, with Sheilds pleading guilty nine months later to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine base and cocaine.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Task Force includes participants from the New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, East Haven Police Department, West Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Department of Correction.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony E. Kaplan and Kenneth L. Gresham through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.