Bennington Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Unlawfully Possessing a Stolen Firearm

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced today that Gavin Wilcox, 31, of Bennington, Vermont was sentenced today to 30 months of imprisonment for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.  United States District Judge William K. Sessions III ordered Wilcox to begin his sentence today, without credit for time served, due to Wilcox having been on furlough from the Vermont Department of Corrections at the time of the federal offense.  Judge Sessions also ordered Wilcox to serve a 2-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.

According to court records, on March 31, 2022, while investigating an unrelated report of violent crime, Bennington Police observed Wilcox engage in a suspected drug transaction in the Dollar General parking lot.  Officers knew Wilcox to have an active arrest warrant for violations of his furlough, and therefore approached Wilcox to detain him.  When Wilcox was handcuffed, he dropped 11 white bags wrapped in a rubber band, which contained fentanyl.  Wilcox’s backpack was seized and a subsequent search of the backpack revealed a stolen Smith & Wesson .357 magnum Pro Series revolver and drug paraphernalia.  Before his March 31, 2022 arrest, Wilcox had sustained felony convictions for DUI-3 (2013) and heroin possession (2020).  These felony convictions prohibited Wilcox from possession of a firearm under federal law.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Bennington Police Department.

The prosecutor was Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt.  Wilcox was represented by Kevin Henry, Esq.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn