A federal judge sentenced Pittsfield resident Theodore Warren to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role as a runner in a cocaine trafficking organization that prosecutors say was led by Lavante Wiggins, the former dean of students at Pittsfield High School. Warren, who pleaded guilty in July, admitted to distributing more than 450 grams of cocaine to a single customer over four transactions between September and December 2024.
As reported by MassLive, Warren pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, plus four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute, according to earlier MassLive reporting on his July plea. Warren and Wiggins were arrested together in 2024 on cocaine trafficking offenses, and MassLive previously described Warren as a trusted runner within Wiggins’ Pittsfield-based operation.
Court records cited by MassLive detail four deliveries Wiggins allegedly made to Warren between August and December 2024, in amounts of 91, 100, 125 and 150 grams of cocaine. Separately, federal prosecutors alleged that Wiggins sold approximately 466 grams of cocaine to a confidential witness across four controlled purchases during that same stretch, according to The Berkshire Eagle. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has alleged that one of Wiggins’ customers accumulated more than $34,000 in cocaine debt from product Wiggins provided on credit, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A Prosecutor Pushes Back on Leniency
At sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Desroches argued that Warren distributed more than a kilogram of cocaine in Berkshire County as a runner, while Wiggins is accused of moving more than 30 kilograms overall. Desroches told the court that the cocaine Wiggins and Warren brought into the county caused immeasurable damage, and argued that stimulant-related overdose deaths in Berkshire County rose 223.4% between 2018 and 2021, after which the county led the state in stimulant-related deaths, with cocaine playing a role in many of those cases, per his remarks reported by MassLive.
U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni said he struggled to find the right sentence to impose, and he noted that some people had overdosed during the period in question. Warren agreed in court that he was meant to warn young people to stay away from drugs, the outlet’s report states. Mastroianni ultimately declined Desroches’ request that Warren be taken into custody immediately following the hearing, instead allowing him to self-report to prison; the judge said he hoped rehabilitation would take hold for Warren and noted that incarceration at age 44 would hurt his family.
A Defense Built Around Family and a Clean Record Since
Warren’s attorney, Joseph Harty, told the court his client earned little money delivering drugs but took on the work because he needed extra funds, the same account notes. Harty described Warren as respectful, nice and regretful about his involvement with Wiggins. According to the report, Warren has six children and six siblings, lives with and helps support his mother, held a full-time job as a cook without issues, and once played semipro football in New York. Warren also served three years in prison roughly two decades earlier on firearms and cocaine distribution charges, per the same account.
Wiggins’ Case Still Pending
Wiggins, who worked as dean of students at Pittsfield High School, was arrested alongside Warren in 2024 but has not resolved his own federal case, which remains pending. The outlet’s report notes that Wiggins has a newly appearing defense attorney while another attorney has sought to withdraw from the case, and that a status conference in his matter is scheduled for next Monday. When federal authorities first announced charges in the case, they said two Pittsfield men, including the dean of Pittsfield High School, were accused of conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in Western Massachusetts, according to a separate announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reported potential penalties for Warren’s charges have varied across outlets, with some accounts citing a maximum fine of up to $2 million and others citing up to $1 million; the applicable figure was not independently resolved in available reporting. Warren’s age has also been reported inconsistently, with some coverage listing him as 42 and sentencing-related reporting listing him as 44. Massachusetts health data have shown that deaths involving stimulants rose significantly after 2010, according to a Massachusetts Department of Public Health data brief, though the state’s more recent overdose reporting has continued to track opioids as the primary driver of overdose deaths statewide.
