NORWICH MAN GETS 57 MONTHS FOR ROLE IN SE CONN. DRUG RING

A U.S. District Court judge in Bridgeport on Monday sentenced a Norwich man to 57 months in federal prison for his role in a southeastern Connecticut drug trafficking ring.

Judge Victor A. Bolden also sentenced Bryon McClellan, 33, to three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

McClellan is one of more than two dozen people indicted in 2019 as part of a drug trafficking ring whose members distributed drugs from an apartment complex above 2Wives Brick Oven Pizza restaurant on Huntington Street in New London.

The arrests came at the conclusion of an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Connecticut Statewide Narcotics Taskforce East, Connecticut Department of Correction and the New London, Waterford, City of Groton and Stonington police departments.

Authorities allege the leader of the drug ring is Anthony “Jak Mac” Whyte, a 44-year-old New London resident whose case is pending in federal court. He is accused of obtaining heroin, fentanyl and cocaine and distributing the drugs to others charged in the indictment, who allegedly sold the drugs to customers and street-level drug dealers.

The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases and seizures of narcotics and firearms, revealed that Royshawn Allgood, also known as “Boy Roy,” received narcotics from another member of the conspiracy and then distributed the drugs to users and other street-level distributors. McClellan acquired distribution quantities of cocaine from Allgood and sold the drug to his own customers.

McClellan was arrested on March 7, 2019. On July 8, 2019, while McClellan was released on bond, the Connecticut State Police stopped his vehicle and arrested him after they found him in possession of approximately 33 grams of cocaine.

McClellan has been held since July 11, 2019. On Oct. 5, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, distributing cocaine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine while on pretrial release. McClellan has multiple previous criminal convictions stemming from unrelated arrests.

Allgood pleaded guilty to a related charge and was sentenced to 71 months in prison in January.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Program.