Joshua Atkinson, a 27-year-old resident of Ellenville, New York, has been sentenced to 156 months in prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. The charges involved the distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, alongside William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, and Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa. Sheriff Figueroa's office leads the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT).
Atkinson was among 11 defendants charged in this case. Other defendants have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing. Christopher Baez received a sentence of 71 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Michael Herry was sentenced to 27 months in prison with an additional three years of supervised release. Joshua Morales is scheduled for sentencing on February 19, 2025; Joseph Logan on May 21, 2025; Timothy Hutcherson on April 9, 2025; and Daryl Livingston on April 2, 2025.
As part of his guilty plea, Atkinson admitted to distributing approximately 3.2 kilograms of cocaine and 600 grams of fentanyl during the conspiracy period. He also confessed to using violence to collect payments from drug redistributors, including threatening a co-conspirator with a hammer. In January 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Atkinson’s residence in Ellenville and recovered a .22 caliber pistol.
Senior United States District Judge David N. Hurd imposed an additional five-year term of supervised release following Atkinson's prison sentence.
The investigation into this case involved multiple agencies including HSI; the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office working with URGENT; the New York State Police; the Village of Ellenville Police Department; and the White Plains Police Department, supported by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda is prosecuting the case.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative aimed at identifying and dismantling high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.