Massachusetts Man Sentenced in Connection with Drug Trafficking in Vermont

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Elijah Jovann Wheeler-Watson, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington in connection with his October 2019 drug trafficking activity in Vermont.  Wheeler-Watson previously pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl.  U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III sentenced Wheeler-Watson to thirty months of imprisonment to be followed by a four-year term of supervised release.

According to court records and proceedings, on October 23, 2019, Wheeler-Watson was the passenger in a car leaving a St. Johnsbury, Vermont residence known for drug activity.  Law enforcement stopped the car and determined that Wheeler-Watson possessed 42 grams of cocaine base, 25 bags of fentanyl, a digital scale, and over $1,900 in U.S. currency.  Several months before this incident, Wheeler-Watson had finished serving a five-year sentence in Massachusetts for multiple armed robberies.  After his release from Massachusetts custody, Wheeler-Watson had traveled to Vermont several times, and had earned at least $13,000 in gross proceeds from drug trafficking activities.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Cate handled this case, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Vermont State Police Drug Task Force.  Wheeler-Watson was represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq.