Crime

Out-of-state drug dealers used juveniles to sell drugs in Rutland, police say

Arrest in Rockingham shooting

Rockylane Lewis in Chicopee, MA court appearance (YouTube/MassLive)

Two accused drug dealers are accused of employing three juveniles as part of their trafficking operation, federal court documents say.

On October 18, a federal grand jury returned a 14-count indictment against Rockylane Lewis (who is also known as “Rizzo,” “Rocko,” or “Rockout,”), 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Aisha Davy, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts; and Holly Howard, 49, of Brattleboro. 

The indictment charges Lewis, Davy, and Howard with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base. Lewis and Davy are also charged with conspiracy to employ persons under eighteen years of age to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base, and conspiracy to use and possess firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. 

Lewis is additionally charged with three counts of drug dealing, five counts of employing and using persons under eighteen years of age to deal drugs, one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of using and possessing firearms during and in relation to drug trafficking crimes, and one count of possession of a firearm while knowing that he was a fugitive from justice. 

The indictment references three separate juveniles that Lewis is charged with involving in the distribution of controlled substances. Howard is additionally charged with allowing her hotel room at the Rodeway Inn on Woodstock Avenue in Rutland to be used for drug dealing.  

According to court records, on June 21, law enforcement executed a search warrant in Rutland, Vermont, during which Lewis was encountered and arrested. During the search of the apartment in which Lewis was located, law enforcement seized a black 9mm Ruger SR9c handgun, over 55 grams of bulk fentanyl, and a gram of cocaine base. 

Lewis was previously arraigned on three counts of distribution of controlled substances on July 6, 2023 before Judge Kevin J. Doyle and was ordered detained pending trial. Lewis will be arraigned today on the additional charges in the October 18, indictment via video conference with Doyle.

Davy was arrested on October 24 in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was arraigned on November 1, before Doyle, and was released pursuant to conditions pending trial.

Howard was arrested on November 2, in Brattleboro. She was arraigned on November 3 before Judge Geoffrey Crawford. Howard was released pursuant to conditions pending trial.

Federal law gives judges three options in dealing with juvenile offenders: 1) refer to state authorities, 2) begin delinquency proceedings, or 3) in serious cases, try the (under-18 when alleged crime was committed) youth as an adult.

Life-threatening gunshot wound in Rockingham – A man was critically injured in a shooting incident on Monday night, according to the Vermont State Police. Police have arrested a suspect, Burton Lewis Clark Jr., 72, who resides in the home at 39 Hartley Hill Rd. in Rockingham where the shooting took place.

Burton Lewis Clark Jr., 72, of Rockingham, is seen in this Vermont State Police mug shot taken early Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Clark was arrested on charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon, and reckless endangerment. He was ordered jailed without bail at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield pending arraignment, which is expected to be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro.

Authorities received a call just before 6 p.m., about a shooting at a residence on Hartley Hill Road near the intersection with Westminster West Road. Upon arrival, first responders found an adult male with life-threatening injuries.

He received immediate aid and was transported to Springfield Hospital. Later, the victim was transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for further treatment.

Investigators believe the incident was isolated and assert there is no ongoing threat to the public. The names of the victim is being withheld pending further investigation and family notifications.

The investigation, led by the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division, Crime Scene Search Team, and Victim Services Unit, is still in the preliminary phase. State Police are urging anyone with information relevant to the case to contact the Westminster barracks at 802-722-4600.

Categories: Crime

3 replies »

  1. This can’t be the first of its kind either.

    Just imagine if we took drug dealers as serious as we do zoning violations.

    We’d have a state trooper in every town! We’d have regional coordinators paid to take care of business. We’d run them out of our state because we are so difficult to do business with. We could respond to any letter sent in the mail about a drug dealer in town!

    It’s all about priorities. Our budget in Vermont has skyrocketed from 4.8 billion in 2012 to 8.5 billion in 2024.

    Yet with all these increases we have a drastic reduction in State Police. Huh?

    How could that be, we spend more money and get less?

    You see their priority is not the safety of Vermont citizens. Insider trading and dealing, however is very much in the cards. See they’ll have pick lines, write in campaigns to local papers, court trials for 10 years is somebody like Costco want’s to do business in Vermont and reduce gas prices.

    But when “Joey” from NY takes a taxi to a known drug hang out at a Chinese restaurant, with a taxi cab full of drugs…..they’ll let him go because he was racially profiled and his name wasn’t joey but Jim…….see how that works.

    Vermonters here’s your sing, Montpelier has a different agenda.

    They are making it easier for drug dealers to live in Vermont and harder for you and me.

  2. Neil, great comment. Do you think that Baruth, Krinowski, or any of the progs get the gist? I doubt it, they are the elite, not to be questioned. Are you listening LaLonde?

  3. We don’t have to imagine taking drug dealers seriously. Nixon started the modern war on drugs in 1971, followed by the federalization of what were local crimes, sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums. The new penalties required a prison building boom at both the state and federal levels. The unanticipated result of the war has been more drugs, cheaper and more powerful than ever. Doubling down on failed policies isn’t going to fix the problem. Rutland has had a serious heroin problem for more than 20 years. Almost everybody knows a junkie. And yet people continue to sign up for addiction with their eyes open. Answer the question of “why” and perhaps there’s a solution. Meanwhile our own Chief Justice, Paul Reiber, has suggested that perhaps we’d be better off to follow the example of Portugal and legalize drugs. At least that would get rid of the thugs and gangsters coming here from down country.