The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated two individuals were arrested on February 15, 2022, in Westfield, Vermont on federal charges relating to the distribution of controlled substances. Federal arrest warrants had been issued for their arrests in conjunction with a criminal complaint filed in federal court on February 10, 2022, alleging that Rachael Goulet (age 27), Johnny Crocker (age 25), and an unidentified individual using the street name “Danger” had conspired with one another and others to distribute controlled substances—including cocaine, cocaine base (“crack”), and fentanyl—in the District of Vermont between the end of December 2021 and the filing of the complaint. Goulet and Crocker are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Burlington before Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle for an initial hearing on the complaint this afternoon or tomorrow.
The following factual allegations are contained in the criminal complaint filed in the case. Goulet and Crocker possessed and distributed controlled substances from their shared residence in Westfield. Goulet and Crocker also hosted individuals from outside of Vermont at their residence for purposes of obtaining and distributing controlled substances. “Danger” was one such individual who lived in their residence and distributed large amounts of drugs while collecting the proceeds from the distributions. The defendants worked together to bring cocaine and fentanyl into Vermont and then process and distribute it in Orleans County for a profit or to support their own consumption. Many of the defendants’ drug-distribution activities involved communications over social media or smartphone applications. During the period of the conspiracy, an individual with whom Goulet and Crocker were acquainted was shot and seriously wounded in Holland, Vermont on January 1, 2022; the individual’s mother was present and was also wounded in the incident. A suspect has been charged by the Orleans County State’s Attorney in connection with that shooting, and he is presently in custody in Connecticut on an unrelated charge.
The United States Attorney emphasizes that the charge in the complaint is a preliminary accusation only and that each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of this offense, Goulet and Crocker would each face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and up to a $1 million fine. Any actual sentence for each defendant, however, would be determined by the Court with guidance from the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the United States Code.
The charge in this complaint follows an investigation conducted by multiple state and federal agencies that was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). During the investigation, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of narcotics from, and investigated the purchase and attempted purchase of multiple firearms by, the defendants and their associates. ATF was assisted in this investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force, detectives and troopers from the Vermont State Police, members of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, officers with the Newport Police Department, agents and task force officers with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and aviators with the Air & Marine Operations (AMO) component of United States Customs & Border Protection.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended law enforcement’s collaborative investigatory efforts in this matter.
The United States is represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lasher. Attorney information for the defendants is not yet available.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. See https://www.justice.gov/psn.