A dangerous Windham County man is facing federal charges of distribution of both powder cocaine and crack cocaine and for using a gun during a major drug trafficking business in southeastern Vermont, court records show.

Joshua P. Bedard, 38, is named in a criminal complaint in federal court with drug distribution in Windham County in April, but his business operated as far north as the White River Junction region, according to records.

After his arrest this week, Bedard told investigators that his drug sales had increased in the past month to a daily sale of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) combined for crack and powder cocaine, a court affidavit said.  Before that time Bedard said he was selling about 18 ounces a day, records noted.

He was found with more than 14 ounces of cocaine and a revolver with a live round and three spent shell casings, records show.

State court records show Bedard received a 9-year prison sentence for badly beating a Lowell man suspected of helping police in 2017 in Orleans County.  Bedard admitted to aggravated assault and unlawful restraint with a risk of injury.  As part of a plea deal, Orleans County prosecutors dropped felony charges of kidnapping with injury and attempted first-degree murder on Nov. 12, 2017, records show.

Bedard, who officials say also has a listed home address in Waterbury, admitted after his arrest that he had started dealing drugs in June 2025, about a month after he got out of prison, court papers show.  He also admitted to carrying a firearm for personal protection, court records noted.  He was caught on video with a gun during a recorded drug deal and the firearm matched the gun found in his car when he was arrested this week, records show.

Also arrested with in a car with him on a state warrant was a local woman, Koree S. Hudgins, 31, police said.  She was wanted on two counts of resisting arrest, two counts of unlawful trespass, and one count each of impeding police and cocaine sale, jail records show. 

Bedard appeared in U.S. District Court in Burlington late Tuesday afternoon for his initial hearing.

Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle agreed to delay a detention motion filed by prosecutors until Friday morning.

The Government learned that Bedard may soon be facing new state charges for assaultive conduct, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Banker said in his detention motion.

 Bedard, who uses the street name “Shizaam,” faces a minimum five-year prison term, if convicted, and up to life in prison, Banker wrote.

The prosecutor noted Bedard’s history and characteristics also “demonstrate dangerousness and underscore the risk of flight his release would pose.”

Bedard’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, burglary into an occupied dwelling and cocaine sale, records show. 

The Vermont Drug Task Force and the FBI began an investigation into another suspected drug dealer in 2025, but eventually Bedard became part of the focus, a federal court affidavit said.

One informant reported smoking crack cocaine with Bedard and allowing him to cook cocaine at the residence, the affidavit said.

The informant said Bedard asked him or her to sell crack and provided two phone numbers to assist with communications, court papers show.  They noted the informant maintained several sales were completed for Bedard.

The Vermont Drug Task Force eventually set up a buy of crack cocaine from Bedard in mid-April.  The sale eventually was conducted at the Travelodge on Putney Road in Brattleboro, records show.

The task force planned a second buy and it was set up the same way, except it was conducted in Guilford, records show.  This time the purchase was for 31 grams of crack cocaine and 26 grams of powder cocaine, a court affidavit said.

The task force and the informant reported Bedard had a firearm during the transaction, the affidavit said.

Also, see Planet Hank coverage at: FBI Drug Bust in Brattleboro Vermont