BRIDGEPORT — A Newington man who was trafficking narcotic pills while he was on supervised release was sentenced Thursday to serve more than 11 years in prison, federal officials said.
Kyle Petersen, 39, was sentenced in Thursday to a 10 years in prison for the narcotics offense and a consecutive 18 months of imprisonment for breaking the rules of his probation, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan said in a news release.
In May 2023, police and DEA agents in New Haven started investigating suspicious packages being sent to Petersen’s Newington residence, and, at the time, he was on federal supervised release for a 2017 conviction for fentanyl and prescription pill trafficking, Sullivan said.
Officials searched a package mailed to Petersen and found more than 400 grams of pills with Protonitazene, which is a synthetic opioid usually more powerful than fentanyl, Sullivan said.
"The investigation revealed that Petersen had received approximately 34 similar packages mailed from the same source in Michigan, and also received approximately 46 packages from California and Oregon suspected to contain multiple pounds of marijuana," Sullivan said.
Sullivan said undercover law enforcement also made controlled purchases of fake Percocet pills with fentanyl from Erik Peterson, who is Kyle Petersen's brother.
Both the men were arrested on April 3, 2024, the same day officials who searched Kyle Petersen’s residence found more than a kilogram of fake Adderall pills with methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills with fentanyl, fale Xanax pills, a large amount of Protonitazene, around 40 grams of cocaine and $76,650 in cash, Sullivan said.
Kyle Petersen, who has been detained since his arrest, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and Protonitazine on April 2, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Kyle Petersen also agreed to forfeit the money seized from his home, an additional $57,530 taken from his bank account and a 2014 Porsche Cayenne.
His brother pleaded guilty to a related charged and was sentenced to 43 months in prison in April, Sullivan said.
Hana Ikramuddin is a Hearst Fellow in Connecticut. She spent the first part of her fellowship at the Houston Chronicle.
Raised in the Twin Cities, Hana majored in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
She has held internships with the Star Tribune, APM Reports and Sahan Journal. In her free time, she loves to cook, make chai and take care of her houseplants.