Drug smuggler Shaheed Roger Khan was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on charges of drug smuggling, witness tampering and gun possession in Vermont at 3 pm today at the US Eastern District Court in Brooklyn.
Justice Dora L. Irizarry, imposing the sentences after a one-hour summation, said that they would run concurrently, which means that Khan will only serve 15 years in prison.
Prior to handing down the long-awaited sentence, Justice Irizarry read three letters from Sheila Waddell, Harry Rampersaud and an anonymous person, which pleaded with her to impose a longer sentence than the 15 years offered to Khan as part of his plea bargain deal, given the heinous crimes he had committed. However she said that while she considered their pain and that of others affected by his operations, it should be recognized that in Khan’s case an acquittal was also possible had it gone to trial.
Prosecutor Shannon Jones had earlier said the same thing, noting that it should not be viewed as 15 years as opposed to 25 or 40 years, but 15 years as opposed to an acquittal.
Before imposing sentence, Justice Irizarry asked Khan to make a statement.
Standing, the cleanly-shaven convict smiled and waved to his family and relatives in the courtroom. Addressing the court, Khan apologized to the citizens of the United States of America for the pain his actions might have caused them. Turning to his family, he apologized to them as well for any pain he might have caused them. He did not as much as mention Guyana or Guyanese.
He then thanked his attorneys John Bergendahl and Diarmuid White for “being men of integrity” and said the US should be proud of them.
As he left the court, Khan waved to his wife who said “Rog, I love you.”
The courtroom was packed to capacity and no standees were allowed. Persons who arrived too late had to leave. (See more later.)