BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO 31 YEARS FOR OPERATING AS A MAJOR DRUG TRAFFICKER

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced the sentencing of defendant Keston Braithwaite for drug trafficking.

“This sentence is more than just, given the poison this defendant was peddling in Suffolk County,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Fentanyl and other dangerous and addictive drugs are a lucrative business for unscrupulous drug dealers. The illegal drugs they sell not only ruin the lives and disrupt families, they kill.”

Braithwaite, 40, was sentenced to 31 years in prison after a jury trial concluded with his conviction in July.

Braithwaite, was found guilty on all eleven counts, which are as follows:

• One count of Operating as a Major Drug Trafficker/Profiteer Sells $75K or More, a Class A-1 felony;
• One count of Operating as a Major Drug Trafficker/Profiteer Possesses $75K or More, a Class A-1 felony;
• Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a Class B felony;
• Criminal Possession Weapon in the Second Degree for Possessing Five or More Firearms, a class C violent felony;
• Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, each a class A-1 felony;
• Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree- Narcotic Drug with Intent to Sell, each a class B felony; and
• Three counts of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree, each a class A misdemeanor.

The evidence presented at trial established that from August 27, 2019 to May 19, 2020, Braithwaite operated as a major supplier of a multi-million dollar narcotics distribution network based out of western Suffolk County. Though a Brooklyn resident, Braithwaite maintained a stash house on Southport Street, Ronkonkoma, where he routinely bagged significant quantities of cocaine and fentanyl for local redistribution.

A search warrant executed at the stash house on that same date recovered over two kilograms of fentanyl, approximately one kilogram of cocaine, six loaded firearms, significant quantities of cutting agents, packaging materials, and digital scales, a money counter, and approximately $20,000 U.S. currency.

He was sentenced today by Honorable Justice John B. Collins, of the Suffolk County Supreme Court. Braithwaite was represented by Sean Dixon, Esq.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jacob Kubetz and Dennis Wouters of the Narcotics Bureau.

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Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments.

Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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