(WNY News Now) Drug trafficking leader and two-time convicted felon Walter H. Bennett is sentenced to 16 years in prison for possessing a handgun and distributing fentanyl.
New York’s Rochester. In addition to illegally possessing firearms, Walter H. Bennett, 34, of Rochester, was sentenced to 192 months in federal prison for organizing a narcotics trafficking scheme including cocaine and fentanyl, a deadly equivalent. U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa imposed the sentence, which was announced by U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross.
In addition to possessing guns in support of narcotics trafficking, Bennett entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 10 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, and 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Bennett ran a drug trafficking network that distributed large amounts of prohibited narcotics in Rochester and Augusta, Maine, according to information disclosed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey. The main target of the operation was a drug house on Woodward Street, with further storage at residences on Clairmount Street and Argo Park in Rochester.
Authorities confiscated throughout the investigation:
- 158 grams of fentanyl
- 11 grams of para-fluorofentanyl
- 580 grams of cocaine
- Over $20,000 in drug proceeds
- Six firearms, including two stolen and one defaced weapon
- Hundreds of rounds of ammunition and seven magazines
In addition, co-defendants Steven Jackson, Tyrik Edwards, and Ray C. Mack, Jr. were found guilty and given jail terms of 48, 135, and 160 months, respectively.
The Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations were all involved in the investigation.