United States Drug Enforcement Administration

RUTLAND, Vt. - The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Olayinka Babatunde (a.k.a. “Tom”), 23, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III to 36 months of imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to fentanyl distribution.

According to court records, on January 29, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at 8 Sheldon Place in Rutland, Vermont. Court records show that Babatunde and Quadeim Mack, also from Brooklyn, used this residence as a base station to distribute drugs in the Rutland area. In an upstairs bedroom, law enforcement seized 9 grams of fentanyl, 57 grams of cocaine base, and 50 grams of cocaine. Law enforcement also seized a loaded .22 caliber revolver and $13,050 of drug proceeds. Judge Sessions previously sentenced Mack to 48 months’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine.

In the plea agreement, the government and Babatunde agreed to a term of imprisonment of 36 months and that the federal sentence be served concurrently to the defendant’s state sentence in New York for attempted murder (2nd degree), a charge to which Babatunde previously pleaded guilty and agreed to an eight-year sentence.

U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest commended the investigative efforts of the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Rutland City Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Babatunde was represented by Richard Goldsborough, Esq. of South Burlington, Vermont.

Babatunde’s prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.