New York City Man Sentenced To 33 Months In Federal Prison For Heroin Dealing
AUG 05 - BURLINGTON, Vt. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that, on August 2, 2016, David Johnson, 24, of New York City was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to charges that he possessed with intent to distribute heroin. U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha also ordered that Johnson serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
According to court records, in the Spring of 2015, the Drug Enforcement (DEA) in Vermont was investigating the distribution of heroin trafficked to Vermont from the New York City area. On June 5, 2015, DEA received information that a load of heroin was being transported to Vermont via automobile. Working with DEA, the South Burlington Police Department ultimately stopped a vehicle in which Johnson was a passenger. Law enforcement officers seized approximately $4,000 in cash from Johnson’s backpack and approximately 4,000 bags of heroin from the vehicle.
For his crime, Johnson faced a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison. The United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are advisory, recommended that Johnson serve between 46 and 57 months. The United States asked Judge Murtha to impose a sentence within that range. Johnson requested a sentence of less than 15 months. In determining that a 33-month overall sentence was appropriate, Judge Murtha considered Johnson’s relatively minimal criminal history, among other factors.
United States Attorney Eric Miller commended the efforts of DEA, the South Burlington Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation. United States Attorney Miller noted that this case is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Vermont Heroin Initiative, which is a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat heroin distribution in Vermont.
