Duxbury man returns to state and federal courts after new drug charges
December 11, 2021 | By Mike Donoghue | CorrespondentA Duxbury man has been back to both state and federal courts recently where he denied new state drug charges and violating the conditions of his federal supervised release.
Mark E. Russell, 63, pleaded not guilty in Vermont Superior Court in Barre this month to a felony charge of illegal possession of a narcotic. Deputy State’s Attorney Alfonzo Villegas also charged Russell with misdemeanor counts of possession of ecstasy and driving while under the influence, second offense, with drugs in Waterbury Center.
In a subsequent hearing, Russell also denied in U.S. District Court in Burlington that he violated two counts of his federal supervised release imposed for operating a drug house at 3810 Vermont Route 100 in Duxbury in November 2018, records show. Prosecutors said he allowed multiple persons to sell drugs there, primarily crack cocaine.
U.S. Probation Officer Melinda Perez wrote Russell was under a federal court order not to commit any new crimes and to refrain from possessing any controlled substances. Perez charged Russell with the two drug possession counts, but did not include the DUI count as a violation of his conditions, records show.
She noted Russell had three unlabeled prescription bottles with about 380 Oxycodone pills
State Trooper Paul Pennoyer pulled over Russell on Kneeland Flats Road in Waterbury Center at about 1:23 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, after witnessing him blow past a stop sign and fail to use his directional signal, records show. While speaking with Russell, Pennoyer detected indicators of impairment, police said. A preliminary breath test showed no alcohol, but police later obtained a blood test.
After Russell was taken into custody on the DUI-second offense charge, Pennoyer reported he found 380 Oxycodone pills – a felony amount – on him and in his vehicle.
Chief Federal Defender Michael Desautels asked for the federal case to be continued for at least 60 to 90 days and to release Russell on strict conditions.
Senior Judge William K. Sessions III imposed a curfew as set by the Probation Office and location monitoring. Russell, also known as “Snake” in earlier court records, was told to follow his previously imposed supervised release conditions.
During Russell’s state court arraignment, Judge Kevin Griffin ordered the defendant to refrain from regulated drugs without a prescription, maintain a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew except for medical appointments, and to stay in contact with his probation officer.
Police said Russell’s first DUI conviction was in 1995.
Russell pleaded guilty in federal court in November 2018 to operating the drug house in Duxbury. He admitted to allowing an out-of-state dealer to use the house in exchange for user-quantity pieces of crack, according to court records in that case. In a plea bargain, Senior Judge William K. Sessions III placed Russell on supervised release for three years in April 2019, but warned Russell that he would be back in federal court if he used drugs again.
And he was last week, denying the latest drug charges.
Original story below
New state charges for Duxbury man serving sentence in drug case
November 23, 2021 | By Mike Donoghue | Correspondent
Mark E. Russell. Vermont State Police photo
A Duxbury man who lived at a home on Vermont Route 100 where officials say a young woman received a fatal drug overdose in 2017 was arrested recently in Waterbury Center on new drug charges.
Mark E. Russell, 63, is due in Vermont Superior Court in Barre on Dec. 2 to face two new state charges of felony possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of drugs-second offense.
According to state police, Trooper Paul Pennoyer pulled over Russell on Kneeland Flats Road in Waterbury Center at about 1:23 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, after witnessing a motor vehicle violation. While speaking with Russell, Pennoyer detected indicators of impairment, police said.
After Russell was taken into custody on the DUI-second offense charge, Pennoyer reportedly found 380 Oxycodone pills – a felony amount – on him and in his vehicle, police said.
Pennoyer transported Russell to the state police barracks in Middlesex without incident where he was processed and released with a citation ordering him into criminal court.
Russell has an earlier driving under the influence conviction from 1995, police said.
As of Monday morning, the status of his earlier federal case was unclear given his recent arrest. Among the mandatory conditions imposed in his federal court case were: that Russell must not commit another federal, state, or local crime; he must not unlawfully possess a controlled substance; and he must refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance.
Russell, also known as “Snake” in earlier court records, pleaded guilty in November 2018 to operating a drug house at 3810 Vermont Route 100 in Duxbury and allowing multiple persons to sell drugs there, primarily crack cocaine. Russell admitted to allowing an out-of-state dealer to use the house in exchange for user-quantity pieces of crack, according to court records in that case.
Senior Judge William K. Sessions III placed him on supervised release for three years in April 2019 as part of a plea bargain. In sentencing Russell, Sessions expressed skepticism of the plea agreement but allowed it to go forward. He warned Russell that he would be back in federal court if he used drugs again. “You have been drug-free,” Sessions told Russell at the sentencing.
It was reported at the time that Russell’s criminal record included five felony convictions, which were considered old. He also had three prior instances where he failed to appear at court proceedings.
A federal grand jury indicted Russell in April 2018 and he was detained initially because he was deemed to be a danger to the community by Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy. “The defendant has a significant criminal record and a serious drug addiction,” a prosecutor wrote in seeking detention. He was later released to attend Valley Vista, a drug rehabilitation center in Bradford.
Russell was charged under what is known as the federal “Crack House Statute,” but it is not restricted to incidents involving crack cocaine. The law provides for unlawfully storing, distributing, manufacturing and using controlled substances at a residence.
A federal prosecutor said there was no evidence that Russell provided the drugs to a young woman who died of an overdose at his home in November 2017. Lily Kendall McCausland, 27, of Warren, died on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, one day after she was stricken at the Russell home, public records show. The location is described as a “friend’s residence” on the death certificate.
McCausland died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of Morphine, Fentanyl and Acetyl Fentanyl,” according to Dr. Kristin Roman of the chief medical examiner’s office.
Nobody has ever been charged in connection with McCausland's death. She had worked in the food and ski industries after attending Harwood Union High School where she participated in cross country, track and tennis, according to her obituary.