United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WATERBURY, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LAWRENCE JACKSON, 26, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 42 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a narcotics distribution conspiracy.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2020, the DEA New Haven Task Force and Waterbury Police Department began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large amounts of heroin, cocaine and crack in the Waterbury area, and was believed to be headed by Zachary Lee Foster, who worked closely with Jason Metz and James Grant.  The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones used by members of the organization, physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, and motor vehicle stops that resulted in the seizure of drugs.  Between October 2020 and January 2021, Jackson was intercepted multiple times on a wiretap ordering heroin and crack cocaine from Grant.  Jackson then sold the drugs to his own customers.

On March 1, 2021, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Jackson, Foster, Metz, Grant and 13 others. 

Jackson, Foster, Metz and Grant and several other members of the conspiracy were arrested on March 3, 2021.  In  association with these arrests, law enforcement executed seven search warrants and seized approximately 40,000 bags of suspected heroin, 350 grams of cocaine and 50 grams of crack cocaine, and nine firearms

Jackson has been detained since his arrest.  On March 23, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Foster, Metz and Grant also pleaded guilty.  Metz, of Naugatuck, was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment, and Grant, of Waterbury, was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment.  Foster awaits sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department.  The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden, Derby, Middletown, Naugatuck and Waterbury Police Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick F. Caruso and Brendan Keefe through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Waterbury for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.

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