Federal prosecutors say a man facing a charge of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine was seen by agents delivering about 10 kilograms of the drug “destined” for Vermont.
Though who that man was conspiring with and where he was spotted with the drug is not clear from court filings in the case.
Francisco Buenrostro Delgado pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court in Burlington to the felony charge against him of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
He was ordered detained pending a detention hearing set for Wednesday in front of federal Magistrate Judge John Conroy.
Court records filed in the case reveal little about what transpired leading to the federal charge against him.
The one-paragraph indictment leveled against him alleges that in February 2019 “in the district of Vermont and elsewhere” that Buenrostro Delgado conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Vermont on Feb. 28. However, the indictment was ordered placed under seal until his arrest.
Court filings state that the indictment was unsealed Oct. 16 when Buenrostro Delgado was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia.
He later appeared in federal court in Atlanta and was ordered to Vermont to face the felony charge leading to court appearance Monday in Burlington.
Federal prosecutors in Vermont submitted a motion this week seeking to detain Buenrostro Delgado pending trial, stating that the evidence against him is strong.
“Agents observed Buensrostro Delgado personally deliver approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine, destined for Vermont, in February of this year,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher wrote in the filing.
“Laboratory analysis concluded this methamphetamine was approximately 92% pure,” the prosecutor added.
The advisory federal sentencing guideline range for an attempt to distribute that amount of the drug is 21 years to 24 years.
Drescher also wrote that Buenrostro Delgado, a citizen of Mexico, has no ties to Vermont and “presents a risk of flight.”
The filing does not say what law enforcement agency was involved in the case or where Buenrostro Delgado was allegedly spotted with the drugs.
The court filings also do not state who Buenrostro Delgado conspired with to distribute the drug.
Drescher, through a spokesperson, declined Tuesday to comment.
A person who answered the phone at the federal Drug Enforcement Administration office for New England, who would not give his name, said Tuesday he would have no comment on the matter.
Adam Silverman, a spokesperson for Vermont State Police, said in an email Tuesday that he didn’t have any information about the case or the defendant.
“You’ll need to check with the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” he wrote.
Buenrostro Delgado’s attorney, William Kraham of Brattleboro, also could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
At a hearing of the state’s Joint Legislative Justice Oversight earlier this fall, state health department officials, in their report to the lawmakers, said that meth use in the state remains low, while the use of other stimulants, such as cocaine and prescription drugs, is rising.