Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Daniel King, 41, of Westminster, Vermont, was sentenced yesterday to serve 66 months of imprisonment for conspiring to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery, in violation of the Hobbs Act. Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered King’s sentence to begin yesterday and ordered King to serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.
According to court records, King forcibly entered a Westminster man’s residence, intending to rob the man of heroin and money King believed to be proceeds from heroin sales. King picked his target because of his belief that the resident of the house was an easy mark. King also recruited an accomplice, Jacquelyn Fougere, 29, of Springfield, Vermont, to help him with the robbery. King obtained supplies for the robbery (including zip ties to use as hand restraints and a fake firearm), and King planned with Fougere to forcibly enter the man’s home, restrain and rob him. On the morning of March 14, 2022, King broke open the door to the man’s residence while holding the fake firearm. The homeowner then discharged a firearm at King striking him. King and Fougere then fled the scene.
King’s sentence was informed by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, which factor in a defendant’s criminal history. King’s significant criminal history dates back to 1998 and includes felony convictions in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Fougere has pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct commerce by robbery. Fougere’s sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for March 3, 2023.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Vermont State Police and the Federal Burau of Investigation.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt. King is represented by Devin McLaughlin, Esq. Fougere is represented by Robert S. Behrens, Esq.