Authorities allege brothers Gage and Eric Colson III ran a large-scale drug operation out of their home in Stannard, with one of them accused of selling as much as $125,000 in heroin and cocaine every few days.
The brothers, according to a court filing in support of charges against them, buried the drugs and money on the property and kept drugs hidden in the woods overnight just in case they were raided by police during that time.
Both men face federal charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl following a raid at their house Friday morning.
One of the men, Eric Colson, 23, made an initial appearance Monday via phone from the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury for a hearing in federal court in Burlington.
Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle granted a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathanael Burris, the prosecutor, to continue holding Eric Colson in custody pending a detention hearing Thursday.
Richard Goldsborough, an attorney representing Eric Colson, could not be reached after the hearing for comment.
Gage Colson, 21, also was expected to make an initial court appearance Monday, but it was put off until Tuesday. He remains held at the St. Johnsbury prison pending that hearing.
John-Claude Charbonneau, Gage Colson’s attorney, declined to comment Monday afternoon.
The brothers were arrested following a raid at the house on Friday by federal, state and local law enforcement, including the FBI and federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Jan Lewandowski, chair of the Stannard Selectboard, said Monday afternoon that he had been away recently and learned of the raid in a phone call from a reporter.
“I’m happy to hear that,” he said upon hearing the news, adding that he was aware that it has been referred to as the “Heroin Highway.” Lewandowski said the property has been the subject of many complaints from neighbors, particularly regarding the large amount of traffic in and out of it.
He said for about a year the town has brought complaints to Vermont State Police.
“They said just be patient,” Lewandowski said. “Apparently it must have worked out, being patient.”
Adam Silverman, a spokesperson for Vermont State Police, in a text message referred to court records unsealed Monday in response to a question about why it took police so long to act.
“You’ll see that it was a lengthy investigation that involved multiple federal and state/local agencies,” he wrote.
Sarah Ruane, a spokesperson for the FBI, said in an email that the federal law enforcement agency could not comment on an ongoing case.
While not specifically addressing the Stannard case, Ruane added, “I can assure the public the FBI takes all tips and reports seriously and works swiftly with our state and local law enforcement partners to address criminal activities in our communities.”
Police released little about the raid, other than that law enforcement agencies had executed a search warrant at a home in Stannard, not providing the names of any arrests. Police said Friday that records related to the case had been sealed and more information was expected to be released this week.
By late Monday morning, a 16-page complaint in court had been unsealed naming the two brothers and providing details into the raid and the events leading up to it. It appeared from the filing that authorities had been on to the brothers’ alleged drug dealing as early August 2020.
The filings revealed the investigation also involved the use of conditional informants, in some cases providing information to authorities in the hopes of receiving “consideration” on criminal charges they face.
According to an affidavit filed by Colin Simons, an FBI special agent, as part of their investigation in the case a confidential informant purchased heroin from Gage Colson. Those drugs, Simons wrote, also tested for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine.
The informant, the special agent wrote, told authorities that Eric and Gage Colson typically hide drugs under a couch as well as in overhead rafters and the ceiling. The informant also reported that two AR-15-style rifles were hung on the wall, according to the filing.
A hidden video used when the informant went into the home, Simons wrote, “revealed an AR-15, equipped with a red dot or similar sign system, hanging on a wall.”
The informant also told authorities that the Colsons had been robbed by a person who dug up drugs hidden in the ground, where they also kept money.
The affidavit stated that back in August 2020, that two informants reported to law enforcement that they worked together to steal about $75,000 worth of heroin and cocaine from Eric Colson.
One of the informants told police that before the robbery they were frequent customers of Eric Colson and that Eric Colson “sells as much as $125,000 of controlled substances every few days.”
Those informants reported that Eric Colson hid drugs in the woods inside a water cooler at night and goes back again and picks it up in the morning. One of the informants told authorities Eric Colson did that because he believed if he was going to “get busted” it would be early in the morning when the water cooler was still hidden in the woods.
According to a court filing seeking to hold each of the brothers in custody pending trial, the prosecutor, Burris, wrote about the seriousness of the charges against them.
“During the execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s residence law enforcement located suspected fentanyl and multiple firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle,” Burris said.
