The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Gregory LaRose, 37, of Brattleboro was sentenced today to time served (four days in prison) for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. The conspiracy lasted from 2000 until the summer of 2004. The defendant was sentenced by the Honorable J. Garvan Murtha in United States District Court in Brattleboro.
LaRose was also sentenced to serve a two-year period of supervised release. While on supervised release, LaRose will be confined to his home for one month and be required to perform 100 hours of community service. LaRose faced a mandatory sentence of 60 months, but he cooperated with law enforcement and received a reduced sentence based on that cooperation.
According to Court records, LaRose's co-defendant, Alex Barrows, led a group of six drug traffickers, who together distributed between 500 grams and 2 kilograms of cocaine in the Brattleboro area during a period of four years. Barrows, LaRose, John Houle, John Parker, Jason Houle, and Robert Phelps brought the drugs to Brattleboro from Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement made several controlled purchases of drugs from various members of the conspiracy by using confidential informants.
In February, 2006, Barrows, Larose, John Houle, John Parker, Jason Houle, and Robert Phelps 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 Beretta under a mattress, and an assortment of brass knuckles, nunchuks, and other weapons under his bed.
On April 1, 2008, four of LaRose's co-defendants were sentenced in federal court by Judge Murtha. Barrows, 29, of Brattleboro, and John Houle, 34, of Brattleboro, were each sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment. Co-defendant John Parker, 33, of Guilford, was sentenced to four months of imprisonment. Co-defendant Jason Houle, 29, of Brattleboro, was sentenced to three months of imprisonment. These four co-defendants will each serve three years of supervised release and will perform hundreds of hours of community service as part of their supervision. A fifth co-defendant, Robert Phelps, was sentenced by Judge Murtha in February, 2007 to three years of probation.
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. Mary Kehoe, Esq., of Burlington, represented LaRose. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Woodcock prosecuted the case for the United States. |
