June 23, 2008

BRISTOL RESIDENT CHARGED WITH USING A FIREARM RELATING TO A DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENSE SUBJECT TO FIVE YEAR MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE

The United States Attorney's Office announced today that Joseph Bodington, 38, of Bristol, Vermont, has been charged in federal court with using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense. If convicted of this offense, Bodington faces a mandatory term of 5 years in federal prison.

According to the Criminal Complaint filed in United States District Court in Burlington, on June 20, 2008 at approximately 12:30 A.M., Bristol Police Officer George Crowe heard several gunshots from the Main Street area in downtown Bristol and immediately responded to the scene. Soon thereafter Officer Crowe intercepted a mini-van driven by Bodington after Bodington turned onto West Street in Bristol. Daniel Grant, also of Bristol, was a passenger in the vehicle. Court records indicate that Bodington then started screaming that he had been robbed by a man who then got into the passenger seat of a green Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Court records further reveal that the unknown perpetrator forcibly took a .22 caliber handgun and a silver case containing $20,000 in cash and 3-4 ounces of crack cocaine while Bodington was sitting in his mini-van with Grant in the Shaw's parking lot. Court records also indicate that as the person fled, Bodington fired several shots that shattered the rear window of the green SUV. Court records indicate that for the last two to three months Bodington has bought about 1/4 of a pound of crack cocaine every two weeks and sells or gives out 1/8 of an ounce of crack cocaine every day. Court records also indicate Bodington used crack nearly every day during this time frame. Court records state that Bodington would regularly leave a handgun out in the open when he sold drugs to deter his customers from stealing from him.

According to the Criminal Complaint, the Bristol Police found eight .40 caliber casings in the Shaw's parking lot. One round had been shot through a white van and lodged in a white Jeep Cherokee parked in the parking lot east of Dan's Place at 31 Main Street. Another round that was located hit a dumpster behind Dan's Place and fell to the ground. A Vermont State Trooper recovered a .40 caliber Glock pistol from Bodington's van.

Federal, state, and local authorities are continuing to investigate and will consider additional charges, if appropriate. If convicted of this current charge, Bodington faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years that would be consecutive to any drug trafficking offenses that he is charged and convicted of. The United States Attorney's Office emphasizes that the charges set forth in the Criminal Complaint are merely allegations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bodington is currently being held at the Chittenden County Correctional Center. It is expected that there will be a hearing in federal court later this week before Magistrate-Judge Niedermeier. The United States has moved for pre-trial detention, without bail, on the grounds that Bodington poses a safety risk to the community and is a flight risk.

This case was initiated as a result of the commendable police work done by the Bristol Police Department This case is being further investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the Vermont State Police, and the Bristol Police Department. United States Attorney Anderson 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 ATF, 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.

Prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella in Burlington, Vermont. The defendant is represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office in Burlington, Vermont.