BURLINGTON — A Hyde Park man has pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to report to police the fatal shooting of two out-of-state drug dealers in Orleans County almost two years ago.

Dilan D. Jiron, 29, also admitted in U.S. District Court on Monday afternoon that he conspired to use firearms to further his drug trafficking.

The defendant, the nephew of state judge Justin Jiron, admitted he conspired with Theodore “Theo” Bland, 29, of Burlington, who gunned down two people and then concealed evidence about the double homicide in Lowell on Oct. 12, 2023.

The bodies of Jahim “Debo” Solomon, 21, of Pittsfield, Mass. and Eric “E” White, 21, of Chicopee, Mass. were found about two weeks later in the town of Eden in nearby Lamoille County about a mile apart.

Members of Solomon’s family were in the first floor courtroom for the change of plea hearing.  Some of them, including his wife and a sister wore white t-shirts with Solomon’s picture and a message “In Loving Memory.”

Family members declined interviews they left the courtroom.

Police and family members had said earlier Solomon and White got to know each other while serving time for juvenile crimes in Massachusetts. They also obtained subsequent adult criminal convictions, records show.

Family members had said the young men had traveled to Vermont to sell drugs, records note.

Bland was first reported in December 2023 as the main person of interest in the double homicide in a Vermont News First (VNF) story that appeared in multiple newspapers in Vermont and Massachusetts. It was based on VNF’s own investigation, interviews and court records.

Security was tight for the 24-minute hearing.  Three deputy U.S. Marshals and two Court Security Officers were sprinkled across the sprawling bowling alley-shaped courtroom.

Senior Federal Judge William K. Sessions III judge ordered a presentence investigation report.  He set the sentencing for 10:30 a.m. Oct. 20, but said it could change. It is likely to be delayed until after the Bland case is resolved.

The government plans to use Jiron and several of his colleagues to prosecute Bland, as the triggerman, who may potentially face the death penalty.

There is no known agreement with Jiron about a possible sentence, but a favorable outcome in the Bland case could reduce the requested penalty from prosecutors.

The Bland case is currently under review by the Death Penalty Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

President Donald J. Trump has told Attorney General Pam Bondi that he wants more use of the death penalty in serious drug cases.  

Bondi also cited using the death penalty potentially in Vermont for the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in Coventry last year.

Bland was initially charged before Trump took office, but a new indictment added two possible death penalty counts.  Bland has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of carrying and discharging a firearm while drug trafficking on Oct. 12, 2023.   The two counts involve the deaths of Solomon and White.

The third defendant named in the indictment, Justin “J.D.” Douglass, 37, of Hardwick, and Bland are charged with conspiring with others known and unknown to the grand jury between Sept. 7, 2023, and Oct. 15, 2023, to distribute crack cocaine.

The double shooting on Oct. 12, 2023 happened at a mobile home at 497 Eden Road in Lowell, although some witnesses claimed the trailer was in the town of Albany, officials said. It was the residence of Donald “D.J.” Billow, police said.

Investigators reported Billow noted it was his grandmother’s residence, but Douglass was going to rent a room.  Billow also knew two “plugs” — street talk for drug dealers or suppliers — were staying at the trailer, police said.  They were believed to be White and Solomon, who were initially staying at an Airbnb in Stowe.

On the day of the shooting Billow said he only got into the kitchen when he saw Bland “going crazy and running around with a firearm.  Billow advised he observed ‘Theo’ shooting the gun down the hallway at the door to the bedroom,” court records note.

As police investigated, Judge Jiron was quickly disqualified from considering state search warrants early on in the case involving various suspects, including his nephew although he was not charged right away, records show.

Dilan Jiron is well known as a defendant in Vermont criminal courts, including Lamoille, Caledonia and Franklin Counties, according to public records.

Jiron also has a history of failing to appear in state court as required, including at a hearing last fall, records show.

For some unknown reason Jiron was never arrested in the federal case after his initial indictment in September 2024 and instead was given a summons for criminal court.  When he failed to show, Jiron soon learned federal judges, unlike state judges, take a dim view of defendants blowing off judicial orders.  He was soon arrested by federal authorities and held ever since.

Sessions started the hearing on Monday by having Jiron placed under oath.  The judge warned Jiron that any false answers could result in a prosecution for perjury.

Jiron told the court he was treated for drug addiction last year and noted he had taken Buprenorphine earlier in the day.  It is used to treat opioid addiction.

Sessions quizzed Jiron at length if he understood his two criminal charges and whether defense lawyer Jason J. Sawyer had explained them in detail.  Jiron said he was satisfied with Sawyer’s work defending him.

The judge said the failure to report the double homicide murder charge – known as misprision of a felony – involved taking steps to hide the crime.  The charge noted Jiron assisted in the disposal and concealment of evidence, providing false statements to investigators and not making the crime known to police.

The signed plea agreement added Jiron helped Bland transport Solomon’s body to a wooded area and attempted to hide it from detection by police in October 2023 and concealing the double homicide.

Sessions told Jiron for hiding the double homicide he could be imprisoned for up to 20 years, followed by up to 3 years on supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The judge said the gun charge was punishable up to 3 years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and up to a $250,000 fine.

Bland comes from a well-known Stowe family, which includes his father, Richard Bland, a lawyer and a former member of the town school board.

Solomon and White had taken an Uber from downtown Burlington near City Hall Park in Burlington to the Northeast Kingdom with Bland, their suspected killer, and with his then-girlfriend, Teesha Nooth, 30, about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 2023 — one day before the killings, court records show.

The foursome was caught on video getting into the Uber in Burlington, police said. They were dropped off about 3:12 a.m. near Hazen Road and Larabee Hill Road in Albany.

The 8-page plea agreement said Jiron also knowingly conspired with Bland and “A.L.” – believed to Amanda Laraway — to facilitate the trade of a firearm for drugs by Bland to a third person.

Jiron helped Bland possess an AK-style pistol on Oct. 14, 2023 and he transported the shooter with the gun on an ATV from Hyde Park to Hardwick, records show.  It was used to facilitate a firearm-for-drugs trade on Oct. 14, 2023, the plea agreement said.

Jiron was present when Bland transferred the AK-style pistol to another person in exchange for crack cocaine and fentanyl, the agreement said.

Laraway, who helped with the drugs-for-gun trade, admitted in June 2024 to a charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, records show.  She has been allowed to enroll in the federal drug court.

Morristown Police said Laraway was found with both crack cocaine and fentanyl in a winter jacket while at Marshall’s department store on Dec. 4, 2023.

Laraway is well known to police.  When she was arraigned, now retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Masterson reported Laraway had 21 active pre-trial cases, including seven felonies.  Her criminal history also included 16 misdemeanor convictions, records show.