Editor’s note: This article is by Derek Carson, of the Bennington Banner, in which it was first published June 27, 2015. www.benningtonbanner.com
BENNINGTON — Several people from New York have been indicted in federal court for allegedly trafficking guns and drugs from Manhattan and the Bronx to Bennington.
The information was released Thursday from the United State’s District Attorney’s Office District of Southern New York. Twelve defendants were charged with a conspiracy to transport large quantities of crack cocaine and heroin from New York City to Bennington for resale. According to the press release, seven of the 12 were also charged with possessing and using firearms with connection to narcotics trafficking. On June 23 and 24, seven of the defendants were taken into custody. Of those, six were presented in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, while the seventh appeared in court on Thursday.
“Yesterday’s arrests show once again that guns and illegal drugs seem to go hand in hand,” said Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York. “These defendants allegedly peddled crack cocaine and heroin, shuttling from Manhattan and the Bronx to Bennington, Vermont. Illegal drugs, and the guns that go with them, are not just an urban problem or a local problem but a national one. I thank my colleagues from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont, as well as all of our law enforcement partners, for their partnership and their dedication to fighting the dangers of drug trafficking in our communities.”
In the indictment, which was unsealed Wednesday, prosecutors allege that between 2014 and 2015, Cory Harris, 31, Daniel Herring, 25, Frank Jenkins Jr., 21, Jaron Langhorne, 20, Mitchell Maldonado, 24, Raheem Maldonado, 23, Unique Newell, 22, Adam Phillips, 32, Krystal Pinsonneault, 32, Andrew Robles, 21, Miguel Robles, 31, and Luis Zabala, 31, conspired to sell controlled substances in Vermont and elsewhere. According to the release, apart from Pinsonneault, all of the defendants face mandatory minimum prison terms ranging from five years to 35 years, and maximum prison terms ranging from 40 years to life. Pinsonneault faces no mandatory term of imprisonment and faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison.
“The District of Vermont is pleased to be working with our law enforcement colleagues in New York City to prosecute those who come to Vermont to traffic in guns and drugs,” said acting U.S. attorney for the district of Vermont, Eugenia Cowles. “For too long, heroin from New York City and guns from Vermont have been exchanged with lethal consequences in both districts.”
Special agent in charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Delano A. Reid said, “Up until yesterday, the illicit trade of narcotics for weapons flourished from the streets of New York City to Bennington, Vermont. The United States Attorney’s Office, the ATF and its law enforcement partners swiftly gathered the evidence necessary and now, in one fell swoop, have cast a wide, multi-state and multi-jurisdictional net over the alleged illegal activities of the Cory Harris et. al. conspiracy. Their arrests should serve as a stark reminder that the long arm of the law can easily extend into other states when necessary and remove from society those who don’t deserve to inhabit it.”
On Friday morning, according to local police, three drug-related search warrants were executed in Bennington. Authorities have not confirmed if this is related to the above arrests.
