Craig Wilkins Imprisoned on Firearms Charge

Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Craig Wilkins, 38, of Rutland, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 30 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that he possessed two handguns as a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss also ordered that Wilkins serve three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term. Wilkins has been detained without bail since his arraignment last year. 

According to court records, on October 31, 2021, Rutland police officers and emergency medical personnel responded to a grocery store parking lot after a citizen reported that two people appeared to be unconscious inside a vehicle. When officers arrived, the two occupants – Craig Wilkins, who was in the driver’s seat and a female who was in the rear – were conscious but appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Wilkins was asked to step out of the car for questioning and when he did so a round of ammunition fell to his feet. Wilkins is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition because he has prior Vermont felony convictions for distributing narcotics. 
 
Authorities impounded the automobile and obtained a state court warrant to search it. In a backpack that was on the front passenger seat and in the glove compartment, officers recovered two handguns, about 177 grams of cocaine base, and about 15 grams of fentanyl. Federal agents obtained a warrant for Wilkins’ arrest on April 12, 2022 and a federal grand jury in Burlington indicted Wilkins on drug and gun charges later that month. Wilkins pleaded guilty to the gun charge last September.

The case was investigated by the Rutland Police Department and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 
 
Wilkins is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.

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 .