Akeen Ocean, a 42-year-old Bangor man also known as “A” and “Alex,” is headed to federal prison for a decade after being convicted in a long-running crack distribution conspiracy that flooded the streets of central Maine with hundreds of grams of the potent drug. U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. handed down the 10-year sentence today, followed by three years of supervised release, marking the end of a case rooted in violent gang ties and cross-state narcotics trafficking.
Ocean was found guilty on June 27, 2016, following a six-day jury trial that peeled back layers of a drug network operating between January 2010 and August 2013. Federal prosecutors proved he was a key player in a conspiracy that sourced crack cocaine from New Haven, Connecticut, and funneled it into the Bangor area through a mix of out-of-state dealers and local accomplices. The operation ran like a criminal assembly line: drugs moved north, cash flowed south, and more crack was shipped back in a relentless cycle of addiction and profit.
According to trial evidence, Ocean was directly responsible for the distribution of 780 grams of crack cocaine during his involvement. That quantity, prosecutors argued, reflects a high-level role in the conspiracy, not just street-level dealing. Each gram fueled dependency, violence, and instability in Bangor neighborhoods already strained by substance abuse and poverty.
The New Haven end of the operation was controlled by members of the Red Side Guerilla Brims, a violent street faction affiliated with the Almighty Blood Nation — a notorious national gang with a history of intimidation, shootings, and drug control. Their reach extended hundreds of miles into Maine, exploiting regional gaps in law enforcement coordination to maintain a steady flow of narcotics.
The takedown was a joint effort led by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) out of New Haven, and the New Haven Department of Police Services. Their investigation followed money, phone records, and informant testimony to map the network’s structure, ultimately pinning accountability on Ocean and others in leadership roles.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Spector and Peter Markle from the District of Connecticut assisted in the prosecution, underscoring the interstate nature of the crime. U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II emphasized that drug conspiracies with gang affiliations pose a direct threat to community safety — and that federal sentencing sends a clear message: cross state lines with poison, and you’ll pay a federal price.
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Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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