The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, stated that on May 19, 2014, Thomas J. Rougier, Jr., 23, of Rutland, Vermont, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for possessing stolen firearms. United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha, sitting in Brattleboro, Vermont also ordered Rougier to serve two years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to court records, in September of 2013, Rougier stole approximately seven handguns from a residence in Weybridge, Vermont. Shortly thereafter, Rougier traded a number of the stolen handguns to drug dealers in the Rutland area for heroin and cocaine. Law enforcement was able to recover three of the stolen handguns.
Rougier was arrested on September 6, 2013 and a federal grand jury in the District of Vermont returned an indictment against him on Sept. 19, 2013. Rougier pled guilty to possessing stolen firearms on Jan. 27, 2014. He has been in custody since his arrest.
The statutory maximum for Rougier’s offense is ten years in prison. Pursuant to the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Rougier faced between 57 and 71 months in prison. Because of the gravity of Rougier’s offense and his significant criminal record, which includes multiple instances of violent or threatening conduct, the United States asked Judge Murtha to impose a term of 70 months. In sentencing Rougier to a term of imprisonment 11 months below the low end of the Guidelines range, Judge Murtha noted, among other factors, Rougier’s difficult childhood.
United States Attorney Tristram J. Coffin commended the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the Rutland City Police Department, and the Vermont State Police for their hard work and coordinated efforts on this investigation. The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Timothy C. Doherty, Jr.
Rougier is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth.
United States Attorney Coffin noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood, a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Project Safe Neighborhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who violate federal gun laws. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhood and Project Safe Vermont, please visit: www.psn.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
