The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Chief Judge Christina Reiss, of the United States District Court, sentenced Troy Gibbs, 52, of Rutland, Vermont to 18 months imprisonment for making his residence available to several out-of-state drug dealers. In addition, Judge Reiss sentenced Gibbs to three years supervised release, to be served after he completes his jail sentence.
Gibbs had previously pled guilty to the federal crime of making a residence available for the purpose of distributing or storing controlled substances, also called the “crack-house law." This crime carries a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment to be followed by up to three years supervised release.
According to the Government, Gibbs and his girlfriend lived in an apartment at 43 Summer Street in Rutland in late 2013 through early 2014. At that time Gibbs and his girlfriend allowed several out-of-state drug dealers from Brooklyn, New York to stay at their residence in exchange for crack cocaine. These dealers then distributed their drugs in the Rutland area while staying at the residence. Gibbs knew these drug dealers by the names: “Dar," Trav," “Cash," “Bolo," and “Lisa." Four of these drug dealers, who all are from Brooklyn, New York, have been charged (See United States v. Darnell Richardson, (a.k.a. “Dar"), United States v. Cashon Smith (a.k.a. “Cash), United States v. Tiquan Woods (a.k.a. “Trav"), and United States v. Tyquaisha Adams (a.k.a. “Ty" or “Lisa")).
The United States stated in its sentencing memorandum that Gibbs was “part of the the local human infrastructure of the Rutland drug world which provides shelter and drug storage to these dealers, thereby decreasing the risk of detection and interdiction by law enforcement and rendering their drug trafficking more likely to succeed." The Government also argued that it was important that the sentence send a message to others in the drug community that the consequences for housing drug dealers is likely to be significant prison sentence. In imposing an 18 month sentence Judge Reiss
stated that “if you provide drug dealers with access to your apartment, expect consequences for yourself." Judge Reiss further stated that these narcotics are “destroying people’s lives" and that Gibbs conduct was “egregious even if it was motivated by [his] addiction and it is not excused."
The United States is represented in this matter by Joseph Perella and the defendant is represented by Brooks McArthur. This matter was investigated by the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
