By Mike Donoghue
THE RUTLAND HERALD
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Two out-of-state men, who authorities said were found in Rutland City with four loaded firearms in their vehicle and possessing various amounts of dangerous drugs, were ordered detained in federal custody on Friday afternoon.
Jose Luis Maldonado Jr., 31, and Edgar Correa, 34, both of Springfield, Massachusetts, are named in a federal criminal complaint charging them with possessing cocaine, crack cocaine and fentanyl on Wednesday in Rutland County with the intent to distribute the drugs.
They also face a second felony count of carrying and using firearms while involved in drug trafficking, according to a nine-page affidavit filed by Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Stephenson, who is assigned to the FBI Task Force in Rutland.
Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle agreed to a request by the government that their detention hearings be postponed until Tuesday.
The prosecution maintains both are a danger to the public by mixing loaded guns and dangerous drugs.
Maldonado reportedly pointed a firearm at close range at the head of a person providing information about the drug tracking case, court records show. It said the source of information owed Maldonado a drug debt. The use of force and threats of death to further drug tracking means Maldonado was a significant risk to the public, the detention motion said.
Correra has three loaded firearms, including two handguns that were within reach when Rutland City Police pulled over the vehicle being driven by Maldonado, records show.
During his post-arrest statement, Maldonado told investigators he had been coming to Rutland to sell drugs every other week since about February 2021, court records note.
Maldonado said each trip he normally brings 500 bags of heroin, along with crack cocaine, mostly in quarter-ounce and half-ounce amounts, but at least three times he brought two-ounce packages, Stephenson wrote.
Maldonado said he obtained heroin and crack cocaine directly from a supplier in large amounts and broke them into smaller sizes for resale, police said. On the most recent trip a week earlier he said he obtained 800 bags of heroin and 37 grams of crack cocaine, police said.
Maldonado said when he first arrived in Rutland he stayed at 76 Baxter St., but following a homicide at the apartment he moved to Robbins Street and continued to distribute heroin and crack cocaine, police said. He said he paid in drugs and money to allow him to stay there, police said.
Sincere “Corey” Johnson, 46, of New York City, was found face down on the living room floor of the apartment at 76 Baxter St. after being shot in the head in mid-June, city police said at the time. Courtney Samplatsky, 34, of Fair Haven, has been charged with second-degree murder, while her companion, Michael O’Brien, 35, of Fair Haven, was charged with aiding in the commission of second-degree murder. Both have denied the charges.
Correa offered few comments following his arrest on Wednesday. He maintained he was in Vermont to hunt bear with a shotgun, police said. Correa was unable to tell police where he was staying in Vermont. He said he had previously worked for Smith & Wesson but was laid off, police said.
Both men had become known to law enforcement while they were investigating drug trafficking in the area of Robbins Street during the summer, court records show. Law enforcement had received tips from the public about frequent vehicle and foot traffic at an address there, and an informant provided information about two dealers operating from a house, police said.
The two men were seen leaving that house on Wednesday.
One man, later identified as Correra, was spotted carrying a black shotgun with a pistol grip in his right hand, police said. The second man, Maldonado, was carrying a sling bag over his shoulder and both unloaded the items into the trunk of a 1995 Honda Civic with a Massachusetts registration plate on the rear.
About an hour later, a Rutland City Police officer, aware of the ongoing drug investigation, spotted the vehicle headed north on Grove Street and turned onto Maple Street without using a turn signal. The vehicle also had no front registration plate, a violation of both Vermont and Massachusetts law, police said.
Police reported they found the following:
— A .380-caliber pistol loaded with seven rounds, including one in the chamber under the passenger seat in the floorboard area where Correa was sitting.
— A .38-caliber special revolver with five rounds in the cylinder tucked between the passenger seat and center console next to where Correa had been seated.
— A .22-caliber pistol loaded with 10 rounds, including one in the chamber tucked between the driver’s seat and center console next to where Maldonado had been seated.
— A 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun with five rounds in the magazine tube inside the trunk of the car.
While investigating whether the men legally possessed the firearms, Rutland City Detective Sean Maguire reported he smelled marijuana coming from the Honda Civic. Stephenson also reported he could smell it through the open driver’s window, court records show.
Rutland Detective Tyler Billings and Stephenson then searched the vehicle and found a red fanny pack with 25 grams of crack cocaine and almost 8 grams of cocaine, police said.
Also seized were 560 bags of fentanyl and a suspected drug ledger with names, amounts and references to controlled substances, police said. Also found were digital scales, numerous rounds of pistol and rifle ammunition throughout the passenger compartment, marijuana in Correa’s pants pocket and a magazine with .380-caliber ammunition, police said.
Maldonado admitted his fingerprints would be found on the .22-caliber firearm, police said.
The arrests were sparked by a coordinated investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force, the Rutland City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI.
Both were lodged at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans. They were brought to Burlington onFriday afternoon for their initial appearance in U.S. District Court.
Defense lawyer Karen Shingler on behalf of Maldonado said when the hearing resumes she likely would have one or more family members testify that her client could be released in public custody.
No pleas to the felony charges were entered because the defendants have not been indicted by a federal grand jury, but that could change quickly.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt said he plans to present the case to a grand jury in Rutland next Wednesday.
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