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Stamford resident Charles Handy, 43, was found guilty Tuesday of distributing crack cocaine after a jury in federal court in Hartford deliberated for about an hour, a U.S. attorneys office statement said.
The evidence showed that from March to June 2010 Handy regularly purchased hundreds of grams of crack cocaine from Gavin Hammett and resold it, the statement says. Handy usually purchased 28 to 40 grams for $50 per gram of crack cocaine at a time and then resold it for $100 per gram, the statement says.
When arrested June 21 by Stamford police, he was in possession of $1,500. The evidence presented to the jury included more than 80 wiretap calls, stored text messages and seized narcotics as well as testimony detailing physical surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics.
He was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (crack cocaine) and two counts possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Sentencing is scheduled for July 1. Handy faces a minimum of 20 years in prison up to life imprisonment. He has been detained since his arrest.
Handys arrest was a result of Operation Hammertime, a four-month Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force wiretap investigation that targeted Hammett, who ran a drug trafficking operation out of the Roodner Court housing complex in Norwalk. A total of 20 individuals, including Handy, were arrested on narcotics- and firearms-related offenses, the statement says.
Law enforcement officials seized more than a kilogram of cocaine, more than 200 grams of crack cocaine, many bundles of heroin, more than $100,000 in cash, seven vehicles and two firearms. Hammett pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
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