Two Brooklyn men were sentenced in federal court for distributing heroin and crack cocaine in Rutland in a conspiracy that allegedly involved using women to transport the drugs.
Alvin “Baby” Kinard and Stephen “MJ” Morrison, both 25 of Brooklyn, had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine.
Kinard was sentenced to 48 months in prison and Morrison, 46 months. Both men face an additional three years of supervised release.
The convictions stem from charges relating to a September 2013 car trip from Brooklyn, New York, to Vermont.
Kinard and Morrison allegedly directed two women who were traveling with them to carry the substances. Between them, they had more than 100 grams of cocaine and 40 grams of heroin when the car was stopped for a motor vehicle violation near Albany, New York.
Ultimately, Kinard and Morrison faced charges for many alleged trips transporting drugs from New York to the Rutland area.
At a sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Christina Reiss said that the two men would repeatedly arrange for young women addicts to “take most of the risk” as “human mules,” according to a statement released Monday by the U.S Attorney for the District of Vermont’s Office.
