Jermayne Butler, also known as ‘Main,’ ‘Main Live,’ and ‘Liver,’ is headed to federal prison for 78 months after being convicted of running a violent, organized drug ring in New Haven. The 39-year-old was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford, marking the end of a high-stakes federal investigation that dismantled a network flooding the city with crack cocaine and oxycodone.
Court documents reveal the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force launched the probe in June 2017, using wiretaps, surveillance, and 13 controlled buys to map out Butler’s operation. Between August and November of that year, investigators personally executed six controlled purchases of crack directly from Butler. Evidence showed he wasn’t just a street dealer—he was a distributor, moving bulk quantities through a system of lower-level sellers while coordinating oxycodone deals on the side.
The takedown came on February 6, 2018, when Butler and multiple associates were arrested in a coordinated raid. Seven properties in New Haven and Hamden were searched under court order, yielding seven firearms, ammunition, roughly 100 grams of crack cocaine, and $14,000 in cash. Butler has remained in custody ever since, denied bail in a case federal prosecutors called a clear threat to public safety.
A 30-count indictment followed two days later, on February 8, 2018, charging Butler and 18 co-defendants with narcotics and conspiracy offenses. Every single defendant has since been convicted, a rare sweep in federal drug prosecutions. On August 9, 2019, Butler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base—commonly known as crack.
Butler’s criminal past is no secret: a rap sheet loaded with prior drug-related convictions factored heavily into the court’s decision. Though Judge Shea ordered him released on a $200,000 bond pending surrender, he must report to prison within 90 days. He’ll serve four additional years under federal supervision upon release.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, with boots on the ground from the New Haven, Milford, and West Haven police departments, plus the Connecticut Department of Correction. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick F. Caruso and David C. Nelson prosecuted the case, calling it a decisive strike against organized narcotics trafficking in southern Connecticut.
Related Federal Cases
- Shawn Miller Gets 7.5 Years for Heroin, Crack Ring · Connecticut
- Sydney Jackson ‘Fatz’ Gets 10 Years for Crack Ring · New York
- Khadafi Castro Gets 40 Months for Hartford Drug Sales · Connecticut
- Norwich Man Rodney T. Morgan Gets 51 Months for Oxycodone Ring · Connecticut
- Carlos ‘Carlito’ Santiago Gets 6 Years for Heroin Ring · New York
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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