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The deal and subsequent arrests all went down in the hotel parking lot.
By Forum Staff
A Pennsylvania man has been convicted on charges stemming from the sale of a large amount of heroin to undercover officer in the parking lot of a hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport last year, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.
Clyde “Quan” Miller, 41, was found guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, possessing a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to evidence presented at the three-day trial, including undercover recordings and physical surveillance, on April 17, 2017, Miller and friends drove to the Hilton Hotel on 135th Avenue in South Ozone Park to complete the sale of three kilograms of heroin for more than $170,000. Unbeknownst to Miller, the purchaser of the product was an undercover cop.
Shortly after Miller and company arrived in the hotel parking lot in a 2013 white Dodge Durango around 3 p.m., a co-conspirator approached the undercover officer and handed him a black bag which contained a brick of heroin. United States Drug Enforcement Administration agents observing the transaction then moved in and arrested Miller and friends. A loaded, .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun was found tucked in the back of Miller’s waistband. Miller had previously been convicted of a felony.
“It is estimated that 70,000 people died as a result of drug abuse last year in the United States,” said DEA-NY Special Agent-in-Charge Jim Hunt. “This conviction sends a message to traffickers that law enforcement is committed to bringing opioid traffickers to justice.”
Miller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to Department of Justice officials.
