POUGHKEEPSIE – Two of the men arrested in February following an investigation by the State Police and the State Office of the Attorney General (OAG) into the sale of ghost guns and fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills were sentenced to prison on Friday after the New York State Attorney General allowed them to plead guilty to a fraction of the charges they were facing.
In February, Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James held a news conference at the State Police Troop K headquarters in Pleasant Valley to announce the takedown of a large-scale gun trafficking network that sold ghost guns, assault-style weapons, and fentanyl pills following an 18-month investigation. Two of the seven men charged in the 63-count indictment, Poughkeepsie residents, Christopher “Whiggy” Evans, 34, and Isaiah Atkins, 27, were charged with 30 felonies, with Evans also charged with two misdemeanors.
Evans was charged with the felonies of conspiracy (1), criminal sale of a controlled substance (9), criminal possession of a controlled substance (10), and two misdemeanor charges of criminally using drug paraphernalia.
Atkins was charged with the felonies of conspiracy (1), criminal sale of a controlled substance (3), and six counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Both men changed their plea to guilty in May following a deal offered by the attorney general. Evans pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in exchange for a reduced sentence.
On Friday, Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin handed Evans a four-year prison sentence with two years of post-release supervision on the drug sale charge and one to three years for the conspiracy charge to run concurrently.
Atkins also changed his plea to guilty in May on one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance. In exchange for his plea, the attorney general recommended a minimum sentence. Judge McLoughlin sentenced the defendant to five-and-a-half years in prison with two years of post-release supervision and a concurrent sentence of one to three years on the conspiracy charge.
The original Mid Hudson News article about the arrests and the defendants can be found here.
