Twenty-six people were arrested in connection with drug distribution in Orleans County on Tuesday. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
Police arrested 26 people Tuesday in the Newport area. The suspects are facing a total of 87 charges in federal and state court, according to police.
Several people were arrested earlier in connection with the investigation. Nine others are still being sought, according to police.
Maj. Glenn Hall of the Vermont State Police said the opiate epidemic “continues to be the single most challenging issue for law enforcement in Vermont.”
“We need to send a message that you will not be allowed to just sell heroin and opiates in these communities,” Hall said.
He said law enforcement has been in touch with addiction treatment services.
“We certainly understand that we are not the solution,” Hall said. “We also understand that after these arrests today the heroin problem is not solved in this area or other areas, but we do feel it is vital that we continue to keep pressure on those individuals that are preying on people in communities.”
State police worked with federal and local law enforcement in the sweep, named “Operation Borderline.” The Vermont Drug Task Force had support from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Newport Police Department.
Orleans County State’s Attorney Jennifer Barrett said opiates have had a profound effect on the northern Vermont region.
“Day in and day out we see our community being plagued with the heroin epidemic,” Barrett said. “We’ve seen too many deaths and too many drug-related offenses in our community.”
In Orleans County, 21 overdoses were reported by law enforcement in 2016, three of which were fatal.
Newport Police Chief Seth DiSanto said that to his knowledge, the operation was the largest of its kind in the region.
Maj. Glenn Hall of the Vermont State Police speaks Tuesday in Derby. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
Law enforcement began the sweep early Tuesday, taking suspects to the Vermont State Police Derby barracks, the Newport Police Department and a nearby Border Patrol station for processing. Police said they found an unspecified quantity of heroin during the arrests, as well as firearms.
Several defendants were arraigned in court in Newport later Tuesday, according to Barrett. VTDigger was unable to reach the court before it closed Tuesday to learn how those suspects pleaded.
Capt. John Merrigan of the Vermont State Police said the people arrested were higher-level parts of distribution networks. All of those arrested as part of the investigation are residents of Vermont.
Some were allegedly involved with bringing substances into Vermont from out of state, according to Merrigan. Others allegedly sold substances in amounts so that they earned profit greater than what they would need to support their own addiction.
Law enforcement is continuing to investigate the out-of-state source of the drugs distributed in the area, according to Merrigan.
Border Patrol was involved in the operation in a law enforcement capacity; the drug distribution operation did not involve the international border, according to law enforcement.
Hall said relationships between state police and local and federal law enforcement are “better than I’ve ever seen.”
Matthew Etre, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, also praised the close relationship between state and federal law enforcement in responding to the opiate crisis.
In a statement, Gov. Phil Scott thanked the law enforcement agencies that worked on the investigation and said the state will crack down on opiate distribution networks, while also offering treatment and prevention services.
“This enforcement effort stemmed from a sudden surge of overdoses in Orleans County, and reflects our commitment to ending drug trafficking in our local communities,” he said.
The following people are facing federal prosecution:
• Jason Able, 31, of Newport, on four counts of sale of heroin and one count of sale of fentanyl.
• Greg Crease, 26, of Derby, on two counts of sale of heroin and one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Erin O’Connell, 33, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin and two counts of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Mickayla Peters, 18, of Newport, on six counts of sale of heroin.
• Jeffrey Savage, 25, of Newport, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Joseph Rushford, 23, of Newport, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Jonathan Letourneau, 27, of Newport Center, on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
• Shawn Gardner, 31, of Troy, on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
• Laura Brasseur, 29, of Newport, on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
• Brandon Sheltra, 21, of Newport, on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
Nineteen are facing criminal charges in state court. Cases are being handled by prosecutors from the Orleans County state’s attorney’s office and the attorney general’s office, according to Barrett.
• Joshua Bean, 33, of North Troy, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Nicholas Brown, 22, of Newport, on four counts of sale of heroin.
• Byron Camber, 21, of North Troy, on one count of sale of heroin and one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Robert Cote, 28, of Newport, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Zachary Flanagan, 30, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Tiana Gosselin, 24, of Newport, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Gordon Kidder, 31, of Sutton, on one count of sale of crack cocaine.
• Nathan Ladieu, 36, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Kenneth Lafave, 25, of Albany, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Joshua McAllister, 27, of Newport, on five counts of sale of heroin.
• Jacob McDonald, 32, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Dana Nadeau, 30, of Charleston, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Sonya Perkins, 27, of Newport, on one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Ashleigh Potwin, 25, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin and one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Kenneth Potwin, Sr., 48, of Newport, on three counts of sale of heroin.
• Isaiah Surdam, 33, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin and one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Belinda Turk, 32, of Newport, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Joshua Limlaw, 27, of Lowell, on one count of transporting heroin into the state.
• Jeremy Bathalon, 28, of Derby, on one count of transporting heroin into the state.
Police are still seeking the following people, according to the news release:
• Terry Adams, 33, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Danielle Benoit, 27, of Newport, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Donovan Blouin, 24, of Newport, on four counts of sale of heroin.
• Natasha Cady, 23, of Derby, on one count of sale of heroin.
• Jeffrey Markum-Shelton, 34, of Newport, on three counts of sale of heroin.
• Michael McFarland, 33, of Derby, on two counts of sale of heroin.
• Arretta Miller, 32, of Morgan, on one count each of sale of heroin and narcotics.
• Michael Stevens, 21, of Derby, on one count of aiding in the commission of a felony.
• Amy Tullis, 34, of Newport, on four counts of selling illegal drugs.
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