Kingston, NY—On March 21, 2024, Matthew Felton, age 43, of Kingston, pleaded guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree before the Honorable Bryan Rounds in Ulster County Court.

An Ulster County Grand Jury charged Felton with narcotics sales stemming from a long-term investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), a collaborative unit of the City of Kingston Police Department and Town of Ulster Police Departments.

Officers of the SIU executed a search warrant on Felton’s apartment at 83 Green Street in the City of Kingston on January 18, 2024, resulting in the discovery of cocaine, fentanyl, and xylazine together with digital scales and other paraphernalia.

Xylazine has been declared an emerging threat by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. On July 11, 2023, the White House released a National Response Plan to address the emerging threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.

District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji encourages all efforts to reduce the availability of these deadly drug cocktails. He says that “Xylazine is a horse tranquilizer, not intended for humans, and does not take much to kill. Fentanyl is widely known to be deadly. Anyone selling either one or combination of them is flirting with prosecution for resulting death in addition to such sales. We must curtail the drug overdoses and deaths.” 

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13, 2024.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tara Waters. The defendant is represented by Marlborough attorney Matt Mahan.

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To learn more about the dangers of xylazine, please visit Centers for Disease Control & Prevention website at
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/other-drugs/xylazine/faq.html