West Hartford Resident Indicted In Fentanyl Distribution Case

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford man is one of three indicted in a fentanyl distribution case, a federal prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut; David Sundberg special agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody released details of an 11-count indictment delivered on Nov 17 charging a trio with narcotics distribution offenses related to the distribution of fentanyl in the Hartford area.

Those charged included:

• Kyle Pitts, 37, of West Hartford, also known as "Bark"
• 31-year-old Curon Johnson, also known as “Buck,” of East Hartford
• Jabari Walcott, 22, of Hartford, also known as "Jabari Walcott-Greene"

Durham said Pitts and Walcott appeared in court Monday via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Johnson's arraignment has not been scheduled, he said.

According to court documents, in the summer of 2020, Hartford Police learned that Pitts and others were selling fentanyl, and that Pitts was using his West Hartford apartment to store fentanyl.

Between August and October 2020, Hartford Police and the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Pitts, Johnson and Walcott.Durham said.

Pitts and Johnson were arrested on federal criminal complaints on Nov. 4. Pitts was in possession of a "distribution quantity" of fentanyl at the time of his arrest, according to case records.

Walcott was arrested on state charges on Oct. 14, and, at the time of his arrest, he was in possession of "distribution quantities" of fentanyl and crack cocaine, case records show.

The three defendants have been detained since their arrests.

The indictment charges Pitt, Johnson and Walcott each with one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl.

Each has also been charged with one or more counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl.

Pitts is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and Walcott is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack).

Each charge in the indictment carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.