Two major drug dealers from Franklin County are now facing felony federal charges in Burlington, according to court records.

John “Fluffy” Lapan, 41, of St. Albans appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday afternoon for a federal criminal complaint that he was involved in three controlled drug purchases in February, according to an affidavit from the St. Albans City Police.

Meanwhile, Jonathan J. Letourneau, 36, also of St. Albans is named in a separate criminal complaint for a charge of knowingly and intentionally distributing crack cocaine in Franklin County in January, records show. He is due in federal court later.

The head of the SAPD’s Street Crimes Unit wrote in a 10-page court affidavit that Lapan sold crack cocaine on Feb. 4, Feb. 7 and Feb. 12 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Investigators later seized 76 grams of suspected crack cocaine, about $1,520 in cash and five firearms from Lapan’s residence at 80 South Main Street near BFA-St. Albans during a court-ordered search on Feb. 20, court records show.

The guns were a Cobra .380, a Glock 17 9-mm, a 12-gauge shotgun, a .410 shotgun, a 12-gauge Savage shotgun. Also seized were a 40-round Glock 9-mm magazine, several cell phones and laptops, records show.

Lapan admitted all the weapons belonged to him and that he had purchased two Glock 17 9-mm handguns on different days from gun dealers in Franklin County, the affidavit said. He also admitted that he had lied on the federal gun purchase form about him not being a drug user, court records show.

During an interview Lapan told St. Albans Police he considers himself a “middleman” selling drugs, the court affidavit said.

The Vermont Drug Task Force and the Enforcement Division of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles assisted in the Lapan trafficking investigation, police said.

Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle, after hearing arguments, agreed to release Lapan on conditions, including that he live with his mother in Franklin County.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Golubock maintained in court that Lapan needed to be detained pending trial. He noted that some of the money seized during the city police raid in February included marked currency that the confidential informant had been provided by police to make the illegal drug buys.

Golubock also maintained in his detention motion that Lapan wanted to acquire more firearms after one was stolen. Lapan also directed his associates to search the phone of a woman he suspected of being a police informant and they made threats to her family, Golubock said in his detention motion.

Assistant Federal Defender Emily Kenyon argued for the release of Lapan, who is collecting $1,035 a month in disability. Kenyon noted Lapan surrendered on his own on Monday morning. She also said Lapan had a relatively clean record.

Golubock confirmed that once Lapan knew he was wanted he told police he would surrender on Monday. He was taken into custody at the Park and Ride in St. Albans. Under questioning from Doyle, Golubock said he was unable to say if the threats were made at Lapan’s direction, or if the associates did it on their own.

Letourneau has allowed out-of-state drug sources to live and sell narcotics from his residence at 16 Lake Street in according to a separate investigation by the St. Albans City Police Street Crimes Unit, court records note.

No federal court date has been set for Letourneau, who police said was known to carry a handgun during drug deals, court records noted.

Letourneau is currently in state custody on a litany of charges from Franklin and Orleans Counties, including fentanyl trafficking, eluding police, resisting arrest, retail theft, leaving the scene of an accident (two counts), careless and negligent driving, reckless operation, false pretenses and violating conditions of release from court, jail records show.

DMV Enforcement also assisted in the Letourneau trafficking investigation, police said.