CONCORD - George Cruz, 30, of Nashua, Isaiah Kinard, 30 of Manchester, and Melvin Nooks, Jr., 29, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, have pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, all three defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed crack cocaine and other drugs to various customers in the Nashua area. Cruz and Melvin Nooks Jr. were responsible for distributing over 280 grams of crack cocaine.
Cruz pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2019, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2020. Kinard and Nooks pleaded guilty today. Kinard is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2020. Nooks Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2020.
“The distribution of crack cocaine endangers all of our citizens," said U.S. Attorney Murray. I commend the FBI agents and Nashua Police Officers who worked together to end this harmful criminal conspiracy. Drug traffickers should be aware that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are working together every day to put them out of business and bring them to justice."
“Today, Cruz, Kinard, and Nooks finally accepted responsibility for trafficking crack cocaine in and around Nashua, NH after learning the hard way that the FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to keeping illegal drugs out of our neighborhoods and schools," said Joseph R. Bonavolonta Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prevent criminal enterprises like this one from inflicting more to damage our community."
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nashua Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Georgiana Konesky and Anna Krasinski.
This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
