Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the sentencing of Jason Brewster, 36, of Poughkeepsie, a major heroin distributor who sold drugs in Dutchess County. Brewster was apprehended on May 23, 2017 after a fifteen-month manhunt conducted by the Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), the NY State Police Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Dutchess County Drug Task Force (DCDTF). Brewster was sentenced by the Honorable Peter M. Forman to 10 years in state prison and will face five years of post-release supervision. The sentencing follows Brewster's guilty plea in Dutchess County Court on August 8, 2017 to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, an A-I felony.
“Violent drug rings not only harm the individuals they poison with drugs—they can inflict entire communities with crime and violence. I will continue to work side by side with our partners in law enforcement to root out those who contribute to the opioid crisis across our state,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.
State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said, “Today’s sentencing sends a strong message that prison is the only future for those who deal in dangerous narcotics. The State Police is committed to our partnership with the Attorney General to identify and shut down these dealers, and bring an end to the damage they inflict on our neighborhoods.”
As uncovered during the joint investigation, Brewster initially sold in excess of 260 grams of heroin to an informant, with a street value of more than $16,000. Between October 2015 and February 2016, Brewster made six such sales to the informant. Brewster sold heroin on a regular basis out of his home where children were present, and in other locations in and around Poughkeepsie, including a location right near the S.F.B. Morse Magnet School, located at 101 Mansion Street in the City of Poughkeepsie.
The Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) has now taken down 25 large drug trafficking gangs, made more than 580 felony narcotics arrests, and seized more than $1.5 million and more than 2,000 pounds of illegal drugs. In the past several months alone, Attorney General Schneiderman’s new Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (“S.U.R.G.E.”) Initiative—a crackdown on New York’s growing heroin, opioid, and narcotics trafficking networks—has resulted in 260 alleged traffickers and dealers taken off the streets across New York, through Operation Bricktown, Operation Un-Wise, Operation Gravy Train, Operation Bloodsport, Operation Pipeline, and Operation Wrecking Ball.
The S.U.R.G.E. Initiative targets gangs and individuals who deal heroin and opioids and commit acts of violence in suburban and upstate communities across New York State. The Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those criminals.
