Hudson man sentenced in drug ring case

ALBANY — A Hudson man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a crack-cocaine distribution ring in Columbia County, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Julan Morrison, 38, also known as “Weez,” was sentenced Thursday after he pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute more than 464 grams of crack cocaine with intent to sell.

“As part of his guilty plea, Morrison admitted that between August and December 2017, he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Columbia County,” U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith said in the statement.

Morrison was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.

Morrison also received a 5-year term of supervised release after he is released from prison.

In his guilty plea Morrison admitted that members of the conspiracy traveled to New York City weekly to purchase hundreds of grams of powder cocaine. They then returned to Hudson with the drugs, where they converted it to crack cocaine and sold it to customers, according to Jaquith.

“Morrison admitted that the organization sold at least 464 grams of crack cocaine between August and December 2017,” Jaquith said.

Four other defendants have also pleaded guilty to the same charge. They are Bryce Hallback, 33; William “Whoody” Morrison, 32; Archie “A.J.” Evans, 42; and Steven “Face” Richardson, 36.

Julan Morrison and the four others are all from Hudson. Julan and William Morrison are cousins, Hudson police said.

“We worked really hard to establish a good case, and this is the result,” Chief L. Edward Moore of the Hudson Police Department said of Morrison’s sentencing. “I thank all of the Hudson police officers and the other agencies we worked with for the tremendous work they did to achieve this.”

“This operation smashed the largest drug distribution network in this city,” Moore said Feb. 6, 2018.

Morrison’s sentencing was announced in a joint statement by Jaquith; Moore; Keith M. Corlett, superintendent of the New York State Police; and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the FBI.

The case was investigated by the New York State Police’s Special Investigations Unit, the FBI, and the Hudson Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Joshua R. Rosenthal.