The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Pamela Yandow, 50, of Swanton, Vermont, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont to two years’ imprisonment for distributing cocaine base in October of 2021. Yandow had been released from federal prison in April of 2021 and was on supervised release when she committed this offense. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also sentenced Yandow to another two years’ imprisonment, to be served consecutively, for violating the terms of her supervised release.
According to court records, Yandow began violating the terms of her supervised release by using narcotics within weeks of her release from Bureau of Prisons custody. Then in October of 2021, Yandow distributed cocaine base, commonly known as “crack," on multiple occasions to a confidential informant at or near her residence in Swanton. Yandow’s extensive criminal history dates back to 1996, and includes a 2003 federal conviction for bank fraud, a 2013 state conviction for narcotics distribution, and a 2019 federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine base. Yandow received an 84-month prison sentence in 2019 but sought and obtained compassionate release in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the St. Albans Police Department. He also thanked the Swanton Police Department, the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Border Patrol for their assistance.
The United States was represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt. Yandow was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara M. Puls.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
