Phillip Wilson Pleads Guilty in Vermont to Drug and Gun Charges

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Phillip Wilson, age 36, originally of the Bronx, New York and recently a resident of Chittenden County, Vermont, pled guilty today in federal court in Brattleboro to drug and gun charges arising from his heroin-related drug trafficking activity.

Wilson, who is being detained, appeared before Judge J. Garvan Murtha and pled guilty to a Superseding Information charging him with (1) distributing heroin in Vermont on or about February 23, 2016, (2) possessing heroin with intent to distribute on or about July 6, 2016, and (3) possessing firearms on or about July 6, 2016, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Under the terms of the proposed plea agreement filed with the Court—acceptance of which was deferred until sentencing proceedings on May 10, 2017 in Brattleboro—Wilson will be sentenced to 7 years in prison if the Court accepts the agreement.

As described during the change of plea proceedings in Court, in February 2016, law enforcement agents became aware that Wilson, who also goes by the aliases “Cody” and “Moscow,” was distributing heroin in Chittenden County, Vermont. Over the next few months, the Vermont Drug Task Force investigated Wilson and made five controlled purchases of heroin from Wilson. Subsequently, the Task Force obtained warrants to search two properties associated with Wilson. During the execution of those warrants on July 6, 2016, agents seized 160 bags of heroin, drug distribution paraphernalia, thousands of dollars in U.S. currency, and three firearms. Wilson has two prior convictions in state court for drug distribution.

The collaborative team investigating Wilson included agents from the Vermont Drug Task Force, the Vermont State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the South Burlington Police Department. This case is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Vermont Heroin Initiative, which is a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat heroin distribution in Vermont. United States Attorney Miller again applauded the efforts of the agencies involved in the Heroin Initiative.

The United States is represented in this case by Assistant United States Attorney Kunal Pasricha. Wilson is represented by attorney Mark Oettinger.