Judge denies accused drug dealer’s request for emergency release from federal detention

A U. S. District Judge on Monday denied an emergency request from Anthony “Jak Mac” Whyte, accused as the central figure in a New London area drug trafficking operation, to be released from prison while awaiting trial.

Judge Victor A. Bolden heard arguments from attorneys for Whyte and the government this past Thursday. He indicated in an order that Whyte failed to disprove he poses a danger to the community and is a flight risk.

Whyte, 46, suffers from diabetes and hypertension, putting him at greater risk of severe illness if he contracts COVID-19, defense attorney Jonathan J. Einhorn argued. Einhorn said that as of Oct. 26, the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R. I., where Whyte is being held, reported that 130 of the 537 prisoners had tested positive for the virus, along with 11 staff members. Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth said the number of cases had since decreased.

Efforts to have Whyte released to live with a family member while awaiting trial, which is scheduled for April 2021, have failed several times in U. S. District Court and in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Whyte was indicted along with 26 others by a federal grand jury in March 2019 following a lengthy investigation by federal, state and local agencies. Whyte allegedly obtained heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Connecticut and beyond and distributed them to others, who sold the drugs to customers and street-level drug dealers.

He is accused of distributing over 400 grams of fentanyl, 5 grams of cocaine and a significant amount of heroin. He also is charged with illegal possession of 10 firearms, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted.