United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Daequon D. Perkins, 25, and Mark W. Baker, 44, both of Utica, New York, pled guilty today for their participation in a fentanyl conspiracy.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen, Timothy Foley, Acting Special Agent in Charge. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division; John B. Devito, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Chief Mark Williams, Utica Police Department.

Perkins pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, and to distribution of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. As part of his guilty plea, Perkins admitted that beginning no later than May 2021, he agreed with others to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl to customers in the Utica, New York area. Perkins also admitted that on May 27, 2021, he distributed approximately 1.75 grams of a fentanyl mixture in Utica.

At sentencing on August 10, 2022, Perkins faces a minimum term of 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, a post-incarceration term of at least 4 years and up to life of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $5,000,000.

Baker pled guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. As part of his guilty plea, Baker admitted that beginning no later than May 2021, through at least August 4, 2021, he agreed with others to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl to customers. Baker further admitted that on August 4, 2021, at his residence in Utica, he possessed a fentanyl mixture he intended to distribute to others, a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol, two 12-gauge shotguns, and multiple rounds of ammunition of various calibers, which he possessed in furtherance of drug-trafficking. Baker also acknowledged that in 2010, he was convicted of drug conspiracy charges in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, for which he was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.

At sentencing on August 10, 2022, Baker faces a minimum term of 15 years and up to life in prison, a post-incarceration term of at least 8 years and up to life of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $8,000,000.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case is being investigated by New York State Police-Special Investigations Unit, investigators from the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, members of the City of Utica Police Department, DEA, ATF, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie.