The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that a federal jury in Rutland today found Shequille Carter, 27, of The Bronx, New York, guilty of possessing with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl and 28 grams or more of cocaine base following a two-day trial. Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered that Carter, who has been detained since his arrest in January, remain in jail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.
Last September, a federal grand jury charged Carter in a one count indictment with possessing drugs with intent to distribute. Carter’s indictment stemmed from a car stop in Marshfield on Aug. 21, 2019. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Vermont State Police investigated a house in St. Johnsbury that was a known drug-trafficking location. Agents saw a car containing Carter and two others leave the St. Johnsbury residence. A state trooper stopped the car for a traffic infraction. During a search of the car’s interior, the trooper found about 290 bags of heroin laced with fentanyl and about 41 grams of crack cocaine. The drugs were recovered from a center console in the rear seat of the vehicle, where Carter had been sitting. Carter also had $3071 on his person. In Carter’s cellphone, investigators found text messages and other entries indicative of drug-trafficking.
Carter faces up to 40 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5 million. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.
This was the first jury trial conducted in either federal or state court in Vermont since last March, when trials were suspended because of the pandemic.
Carter is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Quinn and Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutors are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Spencer Willig and Gregory Waples.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150years.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
