by Mike Donoghue

BURLINGTON – An Orleans County man, who authorities say has been linked to gun and drug distribution in the area in recent months, was ordered jailed on two federal felony gun charges Monday.

Jeremy Starr, 46, of Newport is charged with both illegal possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon and for knowingly possessing a firearm when he was an unlawful user of controlled substances, according to federal court records.

Starr appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Monday afternoon, but the Pre-Trial Services Office had been unable to complete its report for the judge. Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle agreed to continue the hearing at the request of the defense until Friday. Doyle said it could be moved up if the defense was ready sooner.

Starr’s arrest stems from ongoing joint investigations by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into illegal gun and drug activity in the area.

ATF, with help from Newport City Police and the U.S. Border Patrol found Starr at 34 Orchard Street in Newport on Friday, police said. ATF’s Chittenden County Gun Violence Task Force also offered support.

Starr has at least three felony convictions, including for possession of controlled substances on Dec. 14, 2000 in Oakland, Calif, records show.  He received 6 months in prison and 3 years on probation. The records also show he has a felony conviction for illegal possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon in Escambia County, Fla. on Sept. 19, 2011. He received a 24-month sentence on probation, records show.

He also has a felony conviction in Orleans County for driving while under the influence, third offense on Feb. 15, 2019. He was sentenced to 90-days to 4-years in prison, records note.

ATF Task Force Agent Jamie Loomis said he had been working on several gun investigations in the Newport area in recent months. Loomis said Starr was linked to a case involving Gordon “Donny” Richards, 58, of Derby.  Starr offered to sell Richards a 12-gauge pump shotgun with a pistol grip and a serial number that was filed off, Loomis said.

Starr also was linked to Tucker E. Jacobs, 27, of Derby in April for a stolen gun investigation.

Jacobs was asked by Starr to go to Hartford and pick up his “plug” – which is street talk for a drug dealer outside of Vermont who is hosted here locally by a resident, records show. The host resident allows the home to be used to store, prepare and distribute controlled substances, Loomis wrote. The host often is provided narcotics as a payment from the “plug,” Loomis said.

Jacobs learned from Starr that he had somebody at his residence and could hook up Jacobs if he sent “plays” – street talk for potential drug buyers, Loomis said. Starr said he needed handguns and asked him to delete their conversation, Loomis said.

Jacobs showed a picture of two Glocks and Starr said the “plug” would be happy with the guns, Loomis said.

Both Richards and Jacobs are facing felony charges in federal court in Burlington. Richards is named in a four-count gun and drug indictment that also seeks the forfeiture of three firearms and some ammunition.

Jacobs has been named in a criminal complaint in federal court for a charge of possession of a stolen firearm taken during a brazen break-in at Wright’s Sports Supply in Derby on April 15, records show. He was found two days later in Newport with a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol – one of the 10 guns stolen in the break-in, the ATF said.  Jacobs, who is detrained on state charges, is due in U.S. District Court on the federal charge July 10.  

Orleans Deputy Sheriff Dan Locke said the case with Starr began when the officer tried unsuccessfully to stop the suspect for speeding on Vermont 105 in North Troy on Nov. 5, court records show. Instead of pulling over when he saw the blue lights and heard the siren, Starr continued on for about two miles in a Honda CRV, records show.

Starr eventually turned onto Vincent Road and later stopped, Loomis wrote in a court affidavit. When Locke approached the car, Starr was driving, but it was registered to the passenger Nicole Richardson, Locke reported.

Starr apologized for not stopping, but he claimed somebody had been threatening his life and he believed that the person was chasing him, Locke said. The deputy asked if there were any weapons in the car and Starr responded that he only had a knife.

As Locke started to walk back to his fully marked police cruiser, he noticed a shotgun in plain view on the rear seat and the weapon appeared to be loaded with ammunition visible in the shotgun’s magazine tube, the deputy noted.

Starr, when confronted, said he didn’t know the shotgun was there, later said he had forgotten about it and finally said it was his gun and offered an apology, Locke said.

Locke said he seized the 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and later upon checking Starr found he was carrying a glass smoking pipe. Locke said he subsequently took Starr into custody for suspected driving while under the influence, records show.

Locke said he later got a court order from a judge for a blood test that eventually showed Starr had fentanyl and cocaine in his system, court records noted.