Kingston man sentenced in drug, gun trafficking cases

KINGSTON, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- On Friday, December 13, a Kingston man was sentenced following convictions on multiple indictments charging him with narcotics trafficking in Ulster County and surrounding areas from 2020 to 2022. Kevin Drake, 34, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

According to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office, Drake pleaded guilty to four indictments and was awaiting sentencing when an investigation into narcotics trafficking in the Ulster County Jail resulted in a fifth indictment. Cases against Drake began in 2022.

"Kevin Drake and his cohorts have been intimately involved in the dangerous drug market that has harmed so many and cost so much in this County," Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji said. "This Office and our local law enforcement agencies will continue to work together to identify and prosecute these traffickers whose activities undoubtedly devastate lives and security in the community."

In June 2022, Drake and 11 others were arraigned on a 275-count indictment as part of an investigation into bulk trafficking of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other narcotics, as well as illegal firearms in Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga Counties by the NY Attorney General's Office. Drake was then charged in two separate indictments for narcotics trafficking in connection to a Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team investigation.

After police executed a search warrant at 69 1/2 Greenkill Avenue and seized fentanyl, crack cocaine, and drug paraphernalia from the home, he was indicted again on two counts of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent To Sell, and Criminal Possession of Controlled Narcotics. Then in April 2023, Drake was indicted again on serious narcotics trafficking arising from investigations in October 2020, according to the Ulster County DA's Office.

In January 2024, the Ulster County Sheriff's Office began investigating a jail drug trafficking operation. Drake along with 10 others were indicted. In April 2024, Drake along with 11 others pleaded guilty to charges in an 11-month investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force.

According to the Ulster County DA, Drake pleaded guilty to his charges on March 23, 2023, and November 17, 2023. He was sentenced for each crime to run concurrently with each other, including a Driving While Intoxicated Charge in 2022.

Charges and Sentences:

• Driving While Intoxicated Docket:
  • Charge: Driving while Intoxicated
  • Sentence: One-and-one third to four years
• NYS Attorney General's Case:
  • Charge: Criminal Possession of a Narcotic Drug in the fourth degree, a class C felony
  • Sentence: Five years with three years of probation
• VGNET Cases:
  • Charge: Criminal Possession of a Narcotic Drug in the fourth degree, a class C felony
  • Sentence: Eight years with five years of probation
  • Charge: Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance
  • Sentence: Eight years with five years of probation
• Ulster County Sheriff's Office Investigation:
  • Charge: Conspiracy in both the fourth and fifth degree

"The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office commends the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office in the prosecution of Kevin Drake. While incarcerated at the Ulster County Jail, Drake distributed illegal narcotics and laundered money using the commissary system," Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said. "His total disregard of life and safety to our Corrections staff and other incarcerated individuals was appalling. Colonel Anthony Maggio, the Corrections Division and Detectives conducted an extensive investigation that led to these arrests. Let this be a reminder that committing more crimes while incarcerated has its consequences."