Rutland Man Sentenced For Being Leader Of Drug Trafficking Operation
Tuesday, November 19, 2024, 1:15 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BURLINGTON, VT.- On Friday, a 53-year-old Rutland, Vermont man who operated a drug trafficking organization using violence and intimidation to further his illicit narcotics distribution throughout the Rutland, Vermont, area will be a senior citizen when he is finally released from federal prison.
On Friday, November 15, 2024, Lawrence Jackson, also known as “Boo-Bee,” 53, of Rutland, Vermont, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss to 190 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
On April 17, 2024, following a seven-day trial in Federal Court in Burlington, Vermont, convicted Jackson on seven counts of Drug Trafficking and Firearms charges that were unsealed in an indictment.
According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office
According to U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest and evidence presented at trial, Jackson was the leader and organizer of a large-scale drug trafficking operation in the Rutland area that distributed over 3.5 kilograms of cocaine and crack cocaine beginning in December 2020 and lasting through November 2021, from four Rutland area motels, as well as private homes.
Jackson personally employed violence and intimidation to keep a stranglehold on his drug operation and instructed others in his organization to do so. The violence included pistol-whippings and assaults as retribution for drug debts and personal fronts of drugs.
During that time, Jackson armed himself and his co-conspirators with firearms, including his favorite weapon of choice, a Taurus “The Judge” revolver. Evidence admitted on Friday during sentencing, in addition to his drug and firearms offenses, Jackson sexually assaulted women and engaged in sex trafficking in and around Rutland.
U.S. Attorney Kerest commended the investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations, the Rutland City Police Department, and the Vermont Drug Task Force.
