United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Williston, VT. - The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Gregory Lewis, 26, of Williston, Vermont, was sentenced today to serve 58 months in prison after his convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of cocaine base.  United States District Judge Christina Reiss also ordered Lewis to serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.   

According to court records, in early 2021, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Burlington Police Department conducted multiple controlled purchases of cocaine base from Lewis.  On March 29, 2021, multiple law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at Lewis’s residence in Williston.  During the search, agents seized a stolen Glock Model 45 9mm pistol from Lewis’s bedroom and a privately manufactured AR-style firearm (commonly called a “ghost gun”), along with numerous tools of the drug trafficking trade, including packaging materials, digital scales, and a money counter.  Agents also seized $43,135 of U.S. currency, and a collection of jewelry that appraised at over $70,000.  Agents noted cocaine residue on the toilet seat in Lewis’s bathroom, after which Lewis admitted to having flushed approximately 750 grams of cocaine down the toilet as agents entered the residence.  According to witness statements, Lewis’s admissions, and assets seized, Lewis is responsible for selling over 3 kilograms of cocaine in Chittenden County over a 16-month period.

Lewis’s federal sentence was ordered to run concurrent to his sentence imposed in Sarpy County, Nebraska, stemming from Lewis’s September 2019 arrest on Interstate 80 while in possession of 13 ounces of cocaine, bulk marijuana, and THC cartridges.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Burlington Police Department, as well as the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.   

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt handled the prosecution.  Lewis was represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.  For more information, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn