Norwich Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Cocaine and Crack

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOEL HALL, also known as “Slugz,” 30, of Norwich, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for distributing narcotics.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, the FBI, Norwich Police Department and other law enforcement agencies began investigating a drug trafficking organization that was distributing heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine in southeastern Connecticut.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that Hall received cocaine from a co-conspirator and then sold cocaine and crack cocaine to his own customers. 

On March 5, 2019, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Hall and 12 other individuals with narcotics trafficking offenses.

Hall has been detained since his arrest on April 28, 2019.  On August 14, he pleaded guilty to one count of using a telephone to facilitate a narcotics trafficking offense.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police and Norwich, Town of Groton and Waterford Police Departments, with the assistance of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, Baltimore Police Department and Delaware State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth.