United States Drug Enforcement Administration

OCT 12 - HARTFORD, Conn. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Deborah Miller, 60, of West Haven, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing narcotics.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 11:00 a.m. on July 4, 2015, an explosion took place on Wintergreen Avenue in Hamden.  Responding law enforcement located a deceased white male, who had been wrapped in plastic garbage bag material and bound by rope material, in a wooded area close to where the explosion had occurred.  An explosive-type device and debris were also located in close proximity to the body.  The victim, who had also sustained three apparent gunshot wounds, was subsequently identified as Edward Brooks, 39, of West Haven.

After West Haven Police informed investigators that Brooks had been residing at 59 Front Avenue in West Haven, and that the residents of 59 Front Avenue, including Miller, were subjects of an ongoing narcotics investigation, investigators executed a state narcotics search and seizure warrant at 59 Front Avenue and seized numerous items, including pipe bomb making materials that were consistent with the materials found at the Wintergreen Avenue explosion scene, approximately 16 grams of cocaine (“crack” cocaine), approximately 10.6 grams of methamphetamine and narcotics packaging material.  Investigators also seized a surveillance DVR, which captured video surveillance from eight cameras placed around the residence.  The investigation revealed that between September 2014 and July 2015, Miller and others conspired to distribute at least 1.6 kilograms of crack cocaine.  Miller has been detained since her arrest on July 13, 2015.  On April 25, 2016, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. 

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut State Police and West Haven Police Department.