POUGHKEEPSIE – Forty-seven-year-old Bryan Whittle of Pleasant Valley was sentenced Monday to 12-and-a-half years in prison along with five years post-release supervision after pleading guilty to drug charges in Dutchess County Court in January. Whittle, on federal probation when he was arrested by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force, had originally pled not guilty when he first appeared in court in 2023.
In addition to the 12-year sentence on the drug charge, Whittle pled guilty to the violent felony of criminal possession of a weapon. For that charge, Judge Edward McLoughlin, bound by law, sentenced the felon to 10 years in state prison and five years post-release supervision. The second sentence is served concurrently (at the same time).
In exchange for the reduced sentence recommendation by the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, Whittle changed his plea to guilty.
Judge McLoughlin referenced Whittle’s history, including the fact that he was on felony probation at the time of his arrest when imposing his sentence. The judge also noted the effects these dangerous drugs have on our community stating, “Fentanyl is a curse in someone’s life, and you are handing it out. The ripple effects this has in the community and on families is palpable.”
“This case highlights what can happen when there is synergy between law enforcement agencies,” District Attorney Anthony Parisi said. “My office worked seamlessly with our drug task force, using several investigative tools to identify, apprehend, and hold accountable another individual dealing in drugs and guns on our streets.” Parisi also spoke of the relationship between his office and the law enforcement community. “This teamwork between my office and our law enforcement partners is essential to increasing public safety, improving effectiveness and strengthening communication.”
Senior Assistant District Attorney Sinead McLoughlin prosecuted the case against Whittle and said, “the task force brought a strong case to the district attorney’s office and with this sentence, we have taken another dangerous drug dealer off the streets, making the community a safer place to be.”
Detective Sergeant Adam Harris, coordinator of the task force, said agents had become aware of fentanyl packages with the Chicago Bulls logo on them that had been recovered at the scene of recent drug overdoses. During the investigation into the source by the task force and the City of Poughkeepsie Police Neighborhood Recovery Unit, Whittle was identified as the distributor of the drugs. A search warrant was executed at Whittle’s Country Commons apartment where agents recovered eight ounces of cocaine, an undisclosed amount of fentanyl, and two guns, one of which was considered a ghost gun.
