ANSONIA – Federal prosecutors are asking for a 130-month sentence for a drug dealer from Ansonia.
Daqwon Graham, 31, pled guilty in federal court in July to possessing with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl. A federal judge scheduled him to be sentenced on Oct. 16.
Graham also has two pending cases in state court, which stem from alleged drug and prostitution-related offenses in Ansonia and Shelton. During a Sept. 3 court date in Derby on those charges, Graham’s lawyer Jason Sucoll asked to push the state case until after Graham’s federal sentencing.
“The government is recommending 130 months, so I anticipate a lengthy incarceration,” Sucoll said before Judge Stephanie A. Damiani.
Graham was not present at the court appearance. Prosecution and defense attorneys said he is currently being held in federal custody.
State and federal prosecutors have said that Graham was a prolific drug dealer in Fairfield County. His current cases come from a series of arrests dating back to 2023.
According to a federal affidavit signed by a DEA agent, a witness saw Graham deliver cocaine to a man on March 8, 2023. The man was found dead the next day of a drug overdose at a Branford motel. State prosecutors declined to pursue a manslaughter charge against Graham, the affidavit says.
Ansonia & Shelton Charges
About three weeks later, Ansonia police raided Graham’s residence on Howard Avenue. Police said they found 448 grams of cocaine, 186 grams of crack, and 10 grams of fentanyl in his home, along with $100,000 in cash.
State prosecutors charged Graham with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics within 200 feet of a school, and possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 200 feet of a school (Ansonia Middle School). That state case is ongoing.
Then, on Oct. 1, 2024, a woman was found dead from a drug overdose in a Shelton hotel. She was in a room rented under Graham’s name, according to court documents, and police said she was a prostitute.
State prosecutors charged Graham with promoting prostitution in December 2024. That state case is also ongoing.
Federal Charges
Federal investigators then allegedly made a series of eight fentanyl purchases from Graham during January and February 2025. Those sales happened in Trumbull, Wilton, Shelton, and Norwalk.
Graham allegedly agreed to sell 400 grams of fentanyl for about $15,000, court documents said.
DEA agents then obtained search warrants for Graham’s home, vehicle, and phone.
Investigators searched Graham’s Howard Avenue residence, where they allegedly confiscated more than $8,000 in cash. The court documents do not say what else authorities found. Graham was arrested by federal authorities Feb. 26, and he has been in custody since then.
Authorities said Graham was unemployed but owns Energy Exoticz LLC, a business that rents out high-end cars. A webpage for that business went blank after his federal arrest.
Judge Damiani agreed to postpone Graham’s state cases until after he is sentenced by a federal judge. His next court date was scheduled for Oct. 20 at Superior Court in Derby, four days after he is scheduled to be sentenced in the federal case.