New Haven Woman Who Distributed Crack is Sentenced

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DEQUEISHA SLEDGE, also known as “Queish” and “Shontay,” 36, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 18 months of home confinement and five years of supervised release for her role in a New Haven drug distribution ring.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2017, the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force initiated an investigation into a New Haven drug trafficking organization.  The investigation, which included physical surveillance, 13 controlled purchases of narcotics, and court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, revealed that members of the organization were distributing crack cocaine and oxycodone in the New Haven area.

Sledge distributed crack cocaine on behalf of the organization numerous times between September 2017 and January 2018.  She also collected drug proceeds from other members of the organization.

Sledge and several other members of the organization were arrested on federal criminal complaints on February 6, 2018.  On February 8, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 30-count indictment charging Sledge and 18 other individuals with various offenses.

On July 2, 2018, Sledge pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, cocaine base (“crack”).

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, which includes members from the New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, West Haven Police Department and Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick F. Caruso and David C. Nelson.