United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WATERBURY, Conn. - Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo have announced that ZACHARY FOSTER, also known as “Lee,” 58, of Waterbury; KEVIN LUCAS, 61, of Waterbury; PHILLION HARVEY, also known as “Dawg,” 52, of New Haven; RONALD McDOWELL, 58, of Waterbury; and KENYA BROWN, 43, of Bristol; have been federally charged with conspiring to traffic narcotics in and around Waterbury.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on November 26, 2024, Foster was sentenced in New Haven federal court to approximately 35 months of imprisonment, time already served, and four years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.  In February 2025, an investigation by the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force determined that Foster had resumed his drug trafficking activity.  Between February and April 2025, investigators intercepted hundreds of calls between Foster and his associates coordinating the distribution of cocaine, crack, and fentanyl.

During the investigation, a search of a stash location that Foster maintained at a residence on National Avenue in Waterbury revealed approximately one kilogram of cocaine, and a search of a location he maintained on Meriden Road in Waterbury revealed approximately 600 dose bags of fentanyl.  Harvey, McDowell, and Brown also were found in possession of distribution quantities of fentanyl.

On April 16, 2025, a federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned an indictment charging each of the five defendants with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, cocaine and fentanyl.  If convicted of the charge, based on the type and quantity of drug attributed to each defendant, and based on Foster’s previous conviction for a serious drug felony offense, Foster faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and Lucas, Harvey, McDowell, and Brown each faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Foster also faces additional penalties if he is found to have violated the conditions of his supervised release.

Foster, Lucas, and McDowell were arrested on federal criminal complaints on April 3, 2025, and are currently detained.  Brown was arrested on April 25, 2025, and is released on $100,000 bond, and Harvey was released on April 29, 2025, and is released on a $50,000 bond.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The DEA Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan J. Keefe and Natasha M. Freismuth.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).