A Long Island resident who prosecutors say introduced Fetty Wap to a major multi-state drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Kavaughn L. Wiggins, 29, of Coram, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, the same judge who sentenced Fetty Wap to six years back in May. Wiggins pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking offense after prosecutors claimed they could prove he was personally responsible for the distribution of 15 kilograms of heroin, 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl, and 7.5 kilograms of cocaine, court records show.
Wiggins faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, but prosecutors asked for 18 years, arguing that Wiggins not only "routinely possessed a firearm" while transporting and re-selling drugs but also intimidated suspected government informants. The witness intimidation came in the form of Wiggins allegedly sending a sensitive document to a family member, who then posted a picture of the paperwork to Instagram and called the individuals "rats."
Wiggins' lawyer argued that the drug case is the tragic result of a young man who missed out on his dream of playing football professionally. Wiggins was a star high school football player who received a full scholarship to attend Rutgers University that was quashed after authorities discovered he was in a "relationship" with a girl he'd met as a high school senior when she was a freshman.
"While his relationship survived the criminal charge, his scholarship to Rutgers did not," defense attorney John F. Carman wrote in a sentencing memo. "His future and dreams dashed, Mr. Wiggins resorted to the streets."
As prosecutors asked Judge Seybert for a sentence that was three times longer than what Fetty Wap received, they argued that Wiggins "distributed significantly more narcotics" and added that he, "unlike (Fetty Wap), tampered with witnesses." That last comment was made without irony, despite the fact that Fetty Wap's $500,000 bail was revoked after he called a person a "rat" and threatened to murder "you and everyone you with" during a Facetime chat last year.
Aside from Fetty Wap and Wiggins, a former New Jersey corrections officer was also sentenced to six years in prison for transporting $200,000 worth of cocaine for the same drug ring. The case against three other co-defendants is still pending.
Written by: Nate Gartrell
