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Press Release

Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Possession After High-Speed Pursuit

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – Tyvonne Gooden, 25, of Manchester, Conn. pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.  U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Aug. 17 2016.

On March 20, 2014, Gooden was in possession of 190 bags of heroin and two bags of cocaine after he was caught in Greenfield, Mass. by law enforcement officers following an hours-long chase.  The chase began when Gooden sped away from a Massachusetts State Trooper after being pulled over on the highway for a traffic violation.

The charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine each provide a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three to five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million.   Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Bains Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.

Updated February 3, 2016