Portland, Maine: The United States Attorney’s Office announced that James Winbrone, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 21 years in prison and six years of supervised release for possessing with intent to distribute heroin and distributing cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine. He was convicted on Sept. 30, 2015, following a two-day bench trial.
Court records reveal that on April 10, 2014 and Oct. 28, 2014, the defendant was involved in the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in Lewiston. On Jan. 14, 2015, a search warrant executed at a Lewiston apartment used by the defendant resulted in the seizure of cocaine and heroin. The defendant’s sentence was enhanced because of his leadership position and his involvement in an act of violence related to his drug trafficking, namely, the assault of a customer who owed him a drug debt.
The investigation was conducted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Maine State Police, and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Portland and Biddeford Police Departments; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistance was also provided by the Lewiston and Auburn Police Departments and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
