By Guy Page
The homicide victim in the Thursday, July 7 shooting in Burlington was Hussein Mubarak, 21, a Burlington resident and convicted drug dealer.
Mubarak was shot at about 8:30 pm near the corner of Luck St. and Intervale Avenue in the Old North End of Burlington, Burlington police say. Mubarak and his killer are believed to have known each other, police say. The investigation is in its early stages and the Burlington Police Department is asking for anyone with any knowledge of the incident for their help. Initial information on scene stated the suspect may have fled north into the wooded area of the Intervale. An exhaustive search using multiple officers, K9’s and VSP drone, in the heavily wooded area, did not yield any results for the suspect.
On May 31, 2022 Mubarak was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss to 10 months’ imprisonment and a 3-year term of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, U.S. attorney records say.
As Mubarak admitted in his guilty plea hearing, the Burlington Police Department encountered him on May 14, 2021, when Mubarak was found to possess two plastic bags containing cocaine base in his pants pocket. Mubarak further admitted that the quantity of cocaine base found in his pants pocket was consistent with distribution and not personal use.
As described in court records, when Burlington Police Department officers arrested Mubarak on September 5, 2021, Mubarak possessed a semiautomatic handgun. As a result of this federal felony conviction, Mubarak was prohibited from obtaining or possessing firearms.
It is unclear why Mubarak was not still in prison after receiving a 10-month sentence in May. It is possible he was given credit for “time served” prior to the sentencing.
Mubarak was at least the sixth – and possibly seventh – person with a drug crime record to die in Vermont by homicidal gunfire during the last six months. Vermont Daily Chronicle has compiled the following list, which may not be exhaustive:
Sunday, June 12 – Sincere Johnson, 46, of Rutland, described in a 2020 news report as a “five-time felon” and alleged drug dealer from New York City, is allegedly shot to death by another long-time drug user and dealer. The Rutland Herald reports: “According to affidavits, witnesses described [Courtney] Samplatsky as planning to rob a drug dealer with [Michael] O’Brien’s help, and of later bragging about shooting Johnson in the face multiple times.”
Wednesday, June 8 – Justin Gilliam, 38, of Springfield, a convicted felon with drug-related arrests who friends say was trying to beat his drug habit, was found shot in the head in Springfield.
Sunday May 8 – Logan Pratt, 33, of Swanton dies after being shot in a drug-related car chase early Saturday morning in Highgate. Pratt had a lengthy criminal record. State police said the shooting was drug-related. Subsequent reports said the shooter believed Pratt had robbed his home.
Tuesday, March 1 – Vincent Keithan, 44, who had an extensive drug crime record, is shot and killed by Jerry Ramirez, 35, of Brooklyn NY outside a St. Johnsbury hospital, police say. The murder followed an alleged theft of drugs, court affidavits published in media reports say.
Wednesday, February 2 – A 22-year old man Elijah Oliver of Haverhill, MA, a known drug criminal and gang member, is killed by gunshots to the torso at a home on First Street in Swanton. The chief suspect in the case was subsequently arrested on federal firearms charges and has a history of drug crime.
Another shooting could be drug crime related, according to the circumstances of his death and carefully-worded statements made by the victim’s family.
Thursday, February 3 – Isaiah Rodriguez, 17, of Springfield, MA was found dead with gunshots to the torso on a dirt road in Danby.
Neither police nor family reports specifically say Rodriguez’s death was drug related. However, In a Feb. 10 Manchester Journal news report, a family member is quoted as saying, “He was just a good kid who went down the wrong road. Unfortunately, he had an issue with being a follower…..Isaiah, I think, had started hanging out with the wrong kind of people, and he got caught up in thinking that these new people were his friends. I think he found himself in the wrong spot with the wrong people he thought he could trust…..He was a good kid that just followed the wrong way, the wrong people. A teenager, you know how teenagers are, thinking that they know it all. He found himself in a situation that he couldn’t get out of. Look where it took him.
When asked what she would say to other young people in Rodriguez’s situation, the family member said: “Listen to the people who love you, who want the best for you. If you choose this way, you will end up in jail, or you end up dead along a roadway.”
Categories: Crime
Man is born good. It is his environment and social conditions that force him into criminality. Fix man’s environment and social conditions and you’ll fix society.
It’s not unreasonable to cite the Progressives on the Burlington City Council as accomplices in this murder………It is after all the Progressives’ “Defund the Police” policies that has led to the criminal mayhem that now plagues the greater Burlington area………The Progressives must answer to the voters of Burlington for their irresponsible and reprehensible policies that make Burlington and beyond unsafe for law bidding citizens.
Well, this is too bad but when you deal with the devil ” Drugs “, and when payment is due
or you want out…. this is the outcome. Hopefully, the shooter will be caught, as someone
knows but is probably scared of the outcome for them !!
If things look or seem fishy ” underhanded ” in your neighborhood, make law enforcement
aware, gangs & thugs from the cities have no morales but they stand out like a sore thumb
The suspected killer was in police custody just days before the homicide on WEAPONS charges.
The victim was supposed to be in jail at the time he was shot.
What’s the common thread here?
He would have STILL been alive if the State had DONE its job and had him incarcerated.
This state is a national embarrassment when it comes to dealing with dealers
Looks like Plymouth State will have some full ride scholarship money available for its fall semester. Whatever they are doing at the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington doesn’t seem to be addressing root cause issues.
Unfortunately, more to come as Burlington is just at the beginning of its fall into the abyss given current governance.
Wait isn’t Burlington a “gun free zone”? I don’t understand………
Burlington has everything that majority of citizens wanted. Socialist and Progressive local government, less police, more taxes, an Attorney General who madates rules against good citizens liberties, while closing her eyes to violent crime. Yes, Burlington has all they desired. I do feel bad for the people of common sense who are a minority. Burlington, once my home is now unrecognizable ! Burlington might even make the top 10 list ( for most dangerous city) when prostitution takes hold.
When somebody gets shot in the head once it’s over, when they get TWO in the head it’s “sending a message” by the shooter to all the other dealers that these “people” are serious. And WHERE is the comment(s) by/from D/A Sarah George? WHY wasn’t he in the crowbar motel? (prison) Surely she cannot weasel out of commentary due to a “pending investigation” as his PRIOR CONVICTION has nothing to DO w/the “investigation” NOW! And WHY did SHE take money from a Hungarian Billionaire currency trader that has NOTHING to DO with Vermont? Is SHE & ALL the other D/A’s “conspiring” to RELEASE dangerous DEALERS back onto OUR streets and WHY? This IS both correlation & cause, the “criminal” here wears a suit & endangers OUR community, no wonder the cops are demoralized & disgusted with her..They just won’t say so publicly..Insanity..
It is insanity, thank you. This labeling of drug crime as nonviolent crime is preposterous and beyond dereliction of duty. Interesting but not surprising that monies were accepted from out of the country. What a corrupt system.
The above photo is so telling. This drug dealer has been propped up and pushed towards potential success by every white, liberal, female in Burlington who could get their hands on him (see Burlington school board and cronies). He’s received scholarships and praise, meanwhile, the entire time they fawn over him, he deals drugs and threatens the safety of his community. His siblings will be influenced by his behavior for life while the white lib women pretend to care, while boating to their private island or their luxury apartment in NYC, or , or…….Nothing is going to change until we stop pretending that this “culture” isn’t dangerous and works against everything this great country once was…not that long ago…..like 1.5 years……
Not much luck on the corner of Luck St.
But he was a good boy, a very good boy!
One more down……Next
Burlington is engaged in a grand social experiment, to curtail the criminal justice system and observe what happens when humans revert to the law of the jungle and become feral. The definition of feral: “one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some cases, contributed to extinction of indigenous species”…the “indigenous species” subject to slow extinction in this case being decent, law-abiding citizens. Inexplicably, a majority of people voted for this.
sooo… where are all of these so called good intention students to march in the North End in support of this murder victim? Will they lower BLM flags to half mast? The point is that these idealistic students and other progressives who give us the BLM rants could really care less about the rampant violence within the black community. More importantly, they’re not interested in solving this complex issue by examining the root causes which they may not like. They appear more interested in marching and protesting to satisfy their own self indulgence and their need to be noticed…
Burlington’s “prosecutor is a horrid Joke !!
Elect someone New, she is killing people,
isn’t Sarah George just what the doctor ordered?