A 37-year-old West Hartford man has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.

By Ronni Newton

Dwayne Thompson, 37, of West Hartford, who was found guilty in June of several heroin trafficking offenses, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford on Dec. 21 to 156 of imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Thompson, 37, and his associate, Jose Carrasquillo, 36, of Wethersfield, were looking to acquire heroin that they planned to distribute in July 2017 according to information that had been developed by the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Hartford Task Force. According to officials, they had agreed to purchase three kilograms, for $42,000 per kilogram, from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a supplier.

The transaction was scheduled for a site in South Windsor on Aug. 22, 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, and Thompson and Carrasquillo arrived in separate cars. At the site a law enforcement officer arrested Thompson, who was found in possession of a firearm and $126,200 cash.

Carrasquillo sped away from the scene, but surrendered to law enforcement two days later, officials said.

Thompson was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and one count of attempt to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. He had been free on bond but was taken into custody on June 16, 2022 and has been detained since then.

Carrasquillo, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, was been released on $150,000 bond, still awaits sentencing.