POUGHKEEPSIE – Members of the Dutchess County Drug Task Force arrested 29-year-old Beacon resident Raequan Keemer Tuesday following a grand jury indictment on four felony drug charges. Keemer had previously been arrested in 2022 after selling cocaine to undercover drug task force agents in Beacon. He entered a guilty plea to those charges in June.
Following the plea, Keemer was facing 12 years in prison following the 2023 conviction but was accepted in the Judicial Diversion program in Dutchess County, avoiding prison. Part of the agreement in the program includes not having negative contact with law enforcement. Keemer invalidated his agreement by returning to selling cocaine shortly after entering the program, including multiple drug sales to task force agents, according to Detective Sergeant Adam Harris, the task force coordinator.
He was recently indicted by the grand jury following the new investigation and, when he arrived for the diversion program in County Court Judge Jessica Segal’s courtroom on Monday, she arraigned him on two felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and two felony counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. Judge Segal remanded him to the Dutchess County Jail where task force agents responded to formally arrest him on the grand jury warrant.
Because he violated the terms of his plea agreement, Keemer is now subject to serving the 12-year prison sentence for the original charges and faces prison time if convicted on the new charges as well. The maximum sentence for each of the new charges is 12 years, totaling 48 years, which would run consecutive to the 12 years he is already sentenced to, for a maximum of 60 years in prison for selling cocaine.
“The Dutchess County Drug Task Force will hold those accountable who choose to sell dangerous drugs, especially those who choose not take advantage of Judicial Diversion and continue to sell narcotics,” Detective Sergeant Harris said.
Anyone with information regarding this case or any other individuals selling drugs in Dutchess County, is asked to call the Drug Task Force confidential tip line at 845-463-6040 or by emailing DrugTaskForceTips@gmail.com.
