September 25, 2009
HIGHGATE MAN SENTENCED FOR COCAINE CONSPIRACY
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jeffrey Champagne, 30, of Highgate, Vermont, was sentenced today before United States District Court Chief Judge William K. Sessions III, following his December 17, 2008 plea of guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine base, better known as crack cocaine. Champagne was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Jeffrey Champagne was arrested on May 15, 2008, following the March 10, 2008 arrest of his three co-defendants, Anthony Johnson, Omar Medina and Diane Fortune in St. Albans at Ms. Fortune’s residence. According to court records, Champagne admitted his involvement after his arrest and also admitted he had been in drug treatment but that he had started using drugs illegally again. Champagne was detained pending trial. Court records and testimony at hearings showed that Champagne had been buying crack cocaine from co-defendant Johnson in Burlington and taking it back to St. Albans for re-sale and that he later introduced Johnson and co-defendant Medina to co-defendant Fortune in St. Albans. After that introduction, Johnson and Medina operated primarily from Fortune’s apartment while Fortune and Champagne made most of the hand to hand sales for Johnson.
Champagne’s three co-defendants also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and were all sentenced earlier this year. Fortune was sentenced on February 27th to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release; Medina was sentenced on July 20th to a 70-month prison term, followed by four years of supervised release; and Johnson was sentenced on August 19th to a 78-month prison term to be followed by four years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Northwest Vermont Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Gelber and Jeffrey Champagne is represented by Burlington attorney Ernest M. Allen, III..
