Greenbush Resident Sentenced To Over Eight Years For Bath Salt Distribution Conspiracy
BANGOR, Maine - Michael J. Ferguson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jessica Bryden, - 22, of Greenbush was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 97 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute MDPV, a chemical compound commonly referred to as “bath salts” or “monkey dust.” Bryden pleaded guilty on April 15, 2014.
According to court records, between April and December 2011, the members of the conspiracy illegally distributed large quantities of MDPV in Penobscot, Aroostook and Knox counties. The defendant packaged and distributed MDPV to other members of the conspiracy who were selling the drug in the Bangor area. She also collected payment for the drug from other members of the conspiracy. Bryden is one of eighteen defendants who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Ryan Ellis and others to distribute the drug. Ellis previously pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
In imposing sentence, Chief Judge Woodcock referenced “the staggering scope of Bryden’s involvement in dealing bath salts,” and the government was appropriate to characterize the defendant and her one time boyfriend and co-defendant, Ryan Ellis, as the “Bonnie and Clyde of bath salts,” and observed that “you and Mr. Ellis have had a permanent, profound and deleterious impact on this area.”
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Brewer and Bangor Police Departments.
