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Press Release

West Rutland Man Sentenced to Six Years of Imprisonment for Distribution of Heroin and Crack Cocaine

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Vermont

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Demar Neal (a.k.a. “D”), 31, was sentenced by United States Chief District Court Judge Christina Reiss to a six-year term of imprisonment for conspiring to distribute heroin and crack cocaine in the Rutland area in 2015 and 2016. Neal previously pled guilty to this offense. Neal is originally from the Catskill, New York area, but at the time of his arrest lived on Harrison Avenue in West Rutland, Vermont. Neal has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on June 9, 2016.

The maximum term of imprisonment for this offense is 20 years. In addition to imposing a six-year term of imprisonment, Chief Judge Reiss sentenced Neal to a mandatory four-year term of supervised release, which will begin after Neal serves his prison term. The Court also ordered that Neal forfeit over $16,000 of drug proceeds that law enforcement seized during the course of the investigation. In sentencing Neal, Chief Judge Reiss stated that this was a “serious sentence” that reflected the fact Neal “used [his] skills to do something extremely destructive” to the community.

According to court records, Neal relied on local addicts to distribute his heroin and cocaine base in Rutland County. On June 9, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Neal’s residence on Harrison Avenue in West Rutland and seized $6,800 in currency and approximately 80 grams of heroin and 70 grams of crack cocaine. Several weeks earlier, on March 22, 2016, the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department seized a bag containing approximately 50 grams of heroin and $9,400 in cash hidden under a porch on Thrall Avenue in West Rutland. A concerned citizen at the time described a person matching Neal’s description as the man who hid it there. Neal denied knowledge of the bag when questioned at that time, but after his June 2016 arrest, he admitted to hiding the bag.

This case was investigated by the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force, the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Perella. The defendant is represented by Michael Desautels Esq. of Burlington.

Updated June 22, 2017

Topic
Drug Trafficking