The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on July 1, 2022, Justin Zayas-Sanchez, 22, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 20 months in prison after his guilty plea to one count of distribution of fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss also ordered Zayas-Sanchez to serve a six-year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment.
According to court records and proceedings, on April 14, 2021, Zayas-Sanchez sold crack cocaine and ten bags of fentanyl to a confidential informant in the Rutland area. He also sold crack to an informant on May 26, 2021 and fentanyl to an informant on July 19, 2021. Zayas-Sanchez was arrested in November 2021 and has been detained since then.
U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Vermont Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Fair Haven Police Department in the investigation and prosecution of Zayas-Sanchez.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Van de Graaf handled the prosecution for the government. Assistant Federal Public Defender Mary Nerino represented Zayas-Sanchez.