NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment on Friday charging two Hartford County brothers with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances including a new synthetic opioid, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
After the indictment was returned last month, Kyle Petersen, 38, of Newington, and Erik “Peach” Petersen, 43, of New Britain, both entered a plea of not guilty in federal court earlier this week, prosecutors said. Both men have been detained since April 3.
Court documents and statements made in court allege that in May 2023, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad started investigating suspicious packages that were delivered to Kyle Petersen’s Newington address, while he was on federal supervised release following a 2017 federal conviction involving the trafficking of fentanyl and prescription pills.
Prosecutors said that during the investigation, a court-authorized search of a package mailed to Kyle Petersen contained over 400 grams of pills containing the synthetic opioid protonitazene, which is typically more powerful than fentanyl. The investigation discovered that he received approximately 34 similar packages mailed from the same source in Michigan and received approximately 46 packages from California and Oregon suspected to contain several pounds of cannabis, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, investigators also made controlled purchases of counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl from Erik Petersen, Kyle Petersen’s brother.
Both men were arrested on federal criminal complaints on April 3. On that day, a search of Kyle Petersen’s residence uncovered more than a kilogram of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, counterfeit Xanax pills, a large amount of protonitazene, approximately 40 grams of cocaine, and $76,650 in cash, prosecutors said.
Based on the type and quantities of controlled substances attributed to each defendant, if convicted, prosecutors said Kyle Petersen faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Erik Petersen faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
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Prosecutors said that the indictment also seeks the forfeiture of the cash seized from Kyle Petersen’s apartment, an additional $57,530 seized from a bank account, and Kyle Petersen’s 2014 Porsche Cayenne.
If Kyle Petersen is found to have violated the conditions of his supervised release, he faces additional penalties, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney, Vanessa Roberts Avery, stressed that an indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt and that charges are only allegations; each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, consisting of DEA members and personnel from the Bristol, East Windsor, Hamden, New Britain, West Haven, Newington, Manchester, Glastonbury, and Watertown Police Departments.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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