By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First

A Hinesburg felon, who authorities say was caught unlawfully possessing loaded stolen firearms twice in unrelated incidents a year ago, has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.

Anthony T. Seagroves, 34, was ordered to serve a 26-month prison term on Friday for having a loaded privately made firearm — also known as a “ghost gun” — in downtown Burlington on Oct. 14, 2024.

Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss told Seagroves that he will be under supervised release by the U.S. Probation Office for three years once he is discharged from prison.

Judge Reiss said he would get credit for time served – about 13½ months — and his term would run concurrent with any time imposed in superior court for any pending state charges.

The federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory, had proposed a penalty between 30 and 37 months, but the plea deal agreed to put the cap at 34 months.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana E. Hill asked for a midway sentence — 33 months in prison — during the one-hour court hearing.  He said it was appropriate in light of the facts and was sufficient, but not greater than necessary.

Hill noted in his sentencing memo that Seagroves was able to avoid a litany of state charges from a crime spree in Chittenden and Addison Counties about the same time as the two stolen guns and cars.  He noted the theft of a gun on Oct. 23 in Addison County and the possession on Oct. 24 in Chittenden County were separate felonies.

Defense lawyer Devin McLaughlin said Seagroves was an addict when the car and gun thefts happened, but he has cleaned up his act since being in prison for over a year. 

He said there is a stark difference in Seagroves today.  McLaughlin said it was clear his ongoing criminal conduct was driven by his addiction.

Seagroves hoped he might be considered for a time served sentence, McLaughlin said in his sentencing memo.

The defendant’s mother was willing to allow him to live with her in Fletcher until he found a sober living situation in Chittenden County, the veteran defense lawyer wrote. 

Seagroves pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to possessing a firearm on Oct. 14, 2024 as a convicted felon.

Seagroves was discovered among three people slumped over inside a running Ford Fiesta parked behind the Fletcher Free Library on College Street in Burlington about 1:45 p.m. Oct. 14, 2024.

City Police learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen from South Burlington and he was at the wheel with a suspended license, records show.

Police roused Seagroves, who was initially “disoriented and lethargic” and later turned “belligerent” and both “agitated and confrontational,” Hill wrote.

After being charged and released in Vermont Superior Court, Seagroves was tied to a second stolen gun and car, the ATF said.  Hinesburg Community Police said they caught Seagroves with a gun when officers were asked to investigate a second stolen car case on Oct. 23, 2024.

Seagroves, who is well known to police in Northwestern Vermont, is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because of his criminal record.

His record includes a May 2019 felony conviction for burglary that eventually netted him a 1-to-6 year prison term in Chittenden County, records show.

Seagroves has six other felony arrests, but state prosecutors either dismissed the criminal charges or lowered them to misdemeanors, records show.  He also has 8 convictions among his 15 misdemeanor arrests, records show.  He also has seven cases of failure to appear in court when ordered.

Hill said Seagroves has a long history of placing the safety of people in jeopardy, including a driving while under the influence case when he had three minors under the age of 8 in the vehicle in 2021.  Seagroves had other DUI cases at the time, but was not prosecuted, Hill wrote.

While removing Seagroves from the driver’s seat in October 2024, Burlington Police spotted a black and green pistol on the seat where he had been sitting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.

It was loaded with four rounds of PMC brand 9-millimeter ammunition, the ATF said. 

ATF Special Agent Sam Brown said Hinesburg Community Police reported they were investigating an Oct. 23 report of a stolen Subaru, which had been taken the day before from a woman and had been located in Hinesburg by the owner. The woman identified Seagroves as the person seen exiting the passenger side of the vehicle shortly after the owner had located it.

The car owner consented to a search of the vehicle, and Hinesburg Police located a Sig Sauer P365 9-millimeter pistol loaded with 12 rounds on the passenger floorboard, police said.  The gun and other recovered items had been reported stolen, then-Chief Anthony Cambridge reported.  Police also found suspected illicit drugs, Cambridge said.

The owner of the Sig Sauer firearm had reported it stolen from his truck in his driveway in Starksboro on October 22, 2024, Brown said. Police also recovered an iPhone, an iPad and wallet that had been stolen at the same time, Brown said.

Seagroves had been staying at a residence on Richmond Road in Hinesburg when the owner called police to  report he found a backpack that possibly belonged to Seagroves, Officer Frank Bryan said. 

Bryan checked the bag and determined it was owned by the registered owner of the parked truck in Starksboro. The truck owner confirmed the backpack was stolen, Bryan reported.

Seagroves and the companion in the Hinesburg case, Katelynn Cannon, 28, of Hinesburg and Essex, were also facing multiple charges in Addison County for kidnapping and for felony assault, Vermont State Police said.  The charges stem from a June 8, 2024 incident on Vermont 116 in Starksboro, south of Hinesburg, State Police Sgt. Sean Hauter said.

State police said the incident was reported four days late, but Hauter was able to track leads in the case.  Seagroves, who was armed with a baseball bat, had ordered an adult household member into a vehicle, police said.

Cannon, who reportedly assaulted the victim, assisted Seagroves in the case, police maintain.

Burlington Police attempted to take Seagroves and Cannon into custody on June 13, 2024 but they fled in a Honda CR-V, believed operated by Cannon, Hauter reported.  He put out a news release asking the public for help in finding the wanted felons.  It was just a matter of time before they would be caught.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigative efforts of the ATF, the Burlington and Hinesburg Police Departments.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that compiles the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime and achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).

Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).