by Mike Donoghue

BURLINGTON – A Brooklyn, N.Y. man, who was sentenced to five years in federal prison for drug trafficking conspiracy in Rutland County in 2010, is back in Vermont charged with possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute it in Chittenden County.

Fentanyl wasn’t even a ‘thing’ in 2010 when Kajuan Woods was sentenced for Rutland County drug dealing.

Kajuan Woods, 35, appeared briefly before Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle in federal court late Thursday afternoon for a criminal complaint filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force.

Doyle told Woods he was entitled to a probable cause hearing on June 18 for the felony charge of knowingly and intentionally possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute it in Chittenden County on Jan. 19.

Doyle ordered Woods jailed pending further proceedings.  Defense lawyer Chander Matson did not contest detention.

A DEA task force member said Woods was one of six persons found inside an apartment at 195 St. Paul St. during a drug trafficking investigation. Woods was wearing an Adidas cross-body satchel that had nearly 10 grams of fentanyl, including some fentanyl containing xylazine, drug packaging materials, and $1,165 in cash.

Seven handguns, including three that were previously reported stolen, were found, the DEA said in court papers.   Also, in the apartment were more than 22 grams of pure methamphetamine, more than 48 grams of crack cocaine and about 17 grams of fentanyl, the DEA said.

Also significant was the seizure of hollow-point ammunition, which is designed to inflict more damage to human tissue than standard ball ammunition, prosecutors said. 

South Burlington Police encountered Woods and a woman apparently passed out in a running vehicle during the early morning hours of May 12, court records show.   Woods provided a false name “Tysean Shaw” to officers. 

During a subsequent court-ordered search of the vehicle, investigators seized over 28 grams of suspected cocaine, a partially loaded 9-millimeter Glock magazine, a stolen Apple MacBook Pro, and over $2,400 of stolen clothing, court records show.

Burlington Police responded to reports of a man threatening a woman with a firearm on Pearl Street on June 4 and located Woods and a woman in a rented vehicle with New York registration plates, the DEA said.  Officers tried to detain him and Woods was momentarily compliant, then ran from police, leading them on a foot chase through multiple backyards, records show.

After Woods was detained, investigators learned his identity and determined he was wanted on an active federal arrest warrant. A search of Woods’s person revealed over 34 grams of suspected cocaine and a bullet in his pocket, the DEA said.  Woods had been driving a vehicle that had a fanny pack on the floorboard of the driver’s seat that contained a Glock 17 Gen4 9-millimeter pistol, $3,200 in cash, suspected crack cocaine, ten wax folds of suspected fentanyl and empty wax folds.

In 2010, then Federal Judge J. Garvan Murtha imposed a 5-year prison term, followed by four years on supervised release terms for Woods for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Rutland and Brandon area after he started visiting the area in 2006.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan said Woods, while working with other drug dealers from the Brooklyn area, identified Rutland County addicts to host him in their homes, to make runs to New York for drugs, bringing him customers.

Woods sold up to 53 ounces of crack cocaine between March 2006 and his arrest in May 2008.  Nolan noted that Woods had been arrested in Kings County, N.Y. on a charge of possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol only two weeks before his arrest in Vermont.

Woods was one of five men and two women indicted on federal drug charges in the case.  Nolan said Woods initially violated his conditions of release after his Vermont arrest and once he was detained was involved in infractions inside the prisons.

Defense lawyer Chris Davis noted the federal sentencing guidelines had proposed a penalty between 57 and 71 months.  

Woods had another 6 months added to his federal sentence in 2015 when he violated two terms of his supervised release by using marijuana and not reporting to his probation officer, records show.  A charge of providing false information to his probation officer about competing his community service was dropped, records show.

South Burlington Police also served him with a citation ordering him into state criminal court on June 11 to face charges of possession of cocaine and false information to police, Wilson said. 

Contribute to Vermont Daily Chronicle via Stripe.com – quick, easy, confidential