Connecticut Man Facing Federal Charges for Selling Cocaine Base Within 1,000 Feet of Huntington Elementary School

 The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that a federal grand jury, sitting in Burlington, returned an indictment charging Dorian Johnson (a.k.a. “Jon”), 27, of Bloomfield, Connecticut with distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of the Brewster Pierce Memorial School in Huntington, Vermont on November 5, 2020. The indictment also charges Johnson with possession with intent to distribute, 28 grams or more of cocaine base on January 1, 2021, related to a traffic stop in Richmond, Vermont.  

According to court records, the government alleges that on November 5, 2020, the defendant distributed approximately 28 grams (with packaging) of cocaine base at a residence on Main Road in Huntington, which was within 1,000 feet of the Brewster Pierce Memorial School. In addition, court records indicate the government alleges that as a result of a traffic stop in Richmond, Vermont on January 1, 2021, law enforcement seized approximately 98 grams of cocaine base and 50 grams of cocaine powder. The defendant was a passenger in this vehicle which, the government alleges, had just made a trip back-and-forth from Vermont to Connecticut on New Year’s Day. The street name for cocaine base is crack.

Johnson has pled not guilty to the charges and is currently detained pending trial and being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The penalties for the charged drug offenses are as follows: (1) drug distribution within 1,000 feet of a school: 40 years of imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of one year imprisonment, and a $2,000,000 fine; and, (2) possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of a controlled substance: 40 years imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of five years imprisonment, and a $5,000,0000 fine. 

The actual sentence, however, is informed by the advisory Sentencing Guidelines. The Indictment is an accusation only and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Vermont State Police (Narcotics Investigation Unit), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. The defendant is represented by Steven Barth, Esq., of the Federal Public Defenders Office in Burlington.