DERBY, The man who admitted to killing 29-year-old Kayla Wright received a 13-year federal prison sentence on Monday for drug charges, but still faces a separate state sentence for her murder.
Jakiy Keith, 26, of Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced to 13 years and one month in U.S. District Court in Burlington after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and fentanyl and to carrying a firearm during a drug crime.
Federal prosecutors said Keith traveled from Connecticut to run a drug operation that controlled the flow of illegal narcotics into Orleans County for over a year. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lasher told the court Keith managed the trade and created an atmosphere of “terror” across the region.
For local residents, the case is largely defined by Wright’s death. Police said Keith shot her multiple times early on Feb. 2, 2024, inside a home on Route 100 in Troy. Court documents say the killing stemmed from the same drug operation, and that Keith feared Wright would report him to police.
Keith initially faced a first-degree murder charge but reached a plea deal this year, admitting to reduced charges of second-degree murder and unauthorized removal of a body. That charge carries a prison term of 20 years to life, meaning his time in custody is likely far from over.
Defense attorney Chandler Matson asked for a shorter federal sentence, citing Keith’s childhood marked by trauma and violence and saying his client hopes to build a different life. Keith apologized in court and said he is working to better himself.
Several others connected to the drug operation have also been charged in federal court. Keith is scheduled to be sentenced in Wright’s death in Orleans County later this year.
NEK will be looking into the terms of the plea deal and the timeline for the state murder sentencing.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Redjar at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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