FOUR BRATTLEBORO MEN SENTENCED FOR COCAINE DISTRIBUTION

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on April 1, 2008, Alex Barrows, John Parker, John Houle, and Jason Houle were sentenced for distributing cocaine from between 2000 until the summer of 2004. The defendants were sentenced by the Honorable J. Garvan Murtha in United States District Court in Brattleboro.

Barrows, 29, of Brattleboro, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be followed by a three year term of supervised release, to include 300 hours of community service. John Houle, 34, of Brattleboro, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment, to be followed by a three year term of supervised release. Parker, 33, of Gilford, was sentenced to four months of imprisonment, to be followed by a three year term of supervised release. As a condition of supervised release, Parker must complete three months of home confinement and perform 200 hours of community service. Jason Houle, 29, of Brattleboro, who the court found to be a minor participant in the conspiracy, was sentenced to 3 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Conditions of supervised release include three months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service.

According to Court records, Barrows led a group of six drug traffickers, who together distributed between 500 grams and 2 kilograms of cocaine during a period of four years. Barrows, the Houles, and Parker brought the drugs to Brattleboro from Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement made several controlled purchases from various members of the conspiracy using confidential informants.

In February, 2006, Barrows, the Houles and Parker were arrested. After these arrests, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Barrows's apartment and found drug cutting agents in the ceiling, a .32 caliber Berretta under a mattress, and an assortment of brass knuckles, nunchuks, and other weapons under his bed.

Another co-defendant, Robert Phelps, was sentenced by Judge Murtha in February, 2007 to three years probation. A sixth co-defendant, Greg LaRose, is scheduled for sentencing on April 8, 2008.

United States Attorney Thomas D. Anderson thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Brattleboro Police Department, all of which investigated the case. William Dreyer, Esq. and April Wilson, Esq. of Albany, New York represented Barrows. John Houle was represented by David Watts, Esq. John Parker was represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. Jason Houle was represented by Karen Shingler, Esq. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Woodcock prosecuted the case for the United States.