Reginald Rogers and Lester Arrington

Introduction

Reginald Rogers, 38, of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and Lester Arrington, 34, of Naugatuck, Connecticut, were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 120 months of imprisonment — ten years — to be followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking cocaine. Rogers was sentenced on October 30, 2026, and Arrington was sentenced on October 27, 2026. The announcement came from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and closed out a Homeland Security Task Force investigation that began with a February 2026 traffic stop in Trumbull, in which roughly 21 kilograms of cocaine was found hidden inside the vehicle both men were riding in.

Background Information

The release describes both men only in the narrow terms of the case: Rogers’s age of 38 and his residence in Woodbridge, and Arrington’s age of 34 and his residence in Naugatuck. It says nothing about either man’s occupation, education, family circumstances, or any prior criminal history, and it does not explain how the two came to be traveling together or where the cocaine originated. What the release does explain is the framework around the case: the prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, a whole-of-government partnership directed at criminal cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and trafficking rings. The investigation itself was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Bridgeport, Danbury, Stamford, and Stratford Police Departments.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced.

The incident on the record is a traffic stop. According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 23, 2026, Connecticut State Police troopers stopped a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek in Trumbull. Rogers was driving the vehicle and Arrington was a passenger. A K9 sniff of the vehicle alerted for the presence of narcotics, and a subsequent search revealed approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two compartments that the release says were “traps” installed under each front seat. Rogers and Arrington were arrested on state charges at that time, and the federal case followed from there.

Each man pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine — an offense built directly on the cocaine found beneath the Crosstrek’s front seats. Judge Underhill sentenced Arrington first, on October 27, 2026, and Rogers three days later, on October 30, 2026, imposing identical terms in each case: 120 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. In addition to the prison time, Arrington and Rogers agreed to the forfeiture of the vehicle, so the Subaru Crosstrek itself becomes part of the case’s outcome. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justyn P. Stokely and Lauren C. Clark prosecuted the case.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The release records no public reaction beyond the announcement itself: it contains no statements from the judge, the prosecutors, or any law enforcement official, no victim or community commentary, and no account of anything said at the sentencings, so no wider reaction is described. The consequences on the record are concrete. Each man now carries a federal felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, a ten-year prison sentence, and a five-year term of supervised release to follow. At the time of the announcement, each was released on a $150,000 bond, and both were required to report to prison on January 13. The agreed forfeiture of the vehicle rounds out the consequences the release records.

Current Status

Both men have been convicted and sentenced, and as of the announcement neither had yet reported to prison. Each pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced each to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release — Arrington on October 27, 2026, and Rogers on October 30, 2026. Each is released on a $150,000 bond pending the January 13 report date, and the vehicle has been forfeited by agreement. The release does not describe any appeal, any additional charges, or any further proceedings, leaving the October 30, 2026 sentencing announcement as the latest word in the record.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The judgment pairs ten years in federal prison with five more years under supervision for each man — a fifteen-year total obligation that will remove both from their communities in Woodbridge and Naugatuck for a decade before the supervised-release term even begins. The record behind it is a single stop: the February 23, 2026 traffic stop in Trumbull, the K9 alert, and approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine found in compartments hidden under the front seats of a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, followed by guilty pleas to possessing five kilograms or more of the drug with intent to distribute. Beyond the case itself, the release describes nothing about either man’s work, family, or circumstances, so the broader effect on their livelihoods is not documented.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut, “Homeland Security Task Force: Two Connecticut Men Found with 21 Kilos of Cocaine Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison”, October 30, 2026 — source