Brendan Salmon, 36, of Hartford, Connecticut, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearm-related offenses in Vermont. The sentence was handed down Monday in Burlington, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirming the details on Wednesday.
Salmon, also known by the street name “Nice,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine between mid-2022 and November 2023. He also admitted to causing a straw purchase of a firearm in September 2022.
According to court documents, Salmon began selling drugs in and around Stowe, Vermont, in the spring of 2022. By 2023, his operation had expanded to Morristown and Hardwick and involved several associates. Two Connecticut couriers working for him were stopped on Interstate 89 in separate law enforcement operations, which led to the seizure of over 2,700 bags of fentanyl and more than half a kilogram of cocaine and crack. Both couriers were later convicted.
Prosecutors also said Salmon was involved in buying firearms—mainly handguns—from Vermont drug customers. Some of these individuals acted as straw purchasers, buying guns for him from local dealers.
Salmon was arrested in November 2023 during a police raid in Hardwick and has remained in custody since then. His prison sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from Vermont State Police, the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department, Morristown Police Department, and Stowe Police Department.
Leave a Reply