A Londonderry man is facing federal charges linked to a fatal drug overdose four years ago.
Timothy Slade, 29, pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Burlington to felony counts of distributing heroin and maintaining drug-involved premises. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle released Slade on conditions, including that he not contact witnesses in the case.
“The government concurs with the probation office’s recommendation for release, subject to certain conditions, including no contact with certain witnesses, and subject to counseling,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella, the prosecutor in the case, told the judge.
Perella added that while the charges are serious, relating to a drug overdose in 2017, “the government also recognizes the alleged offense conduct is four years old and release is justified in part because the government has no evidence there is any very recent drug distribution activity by the defendant.”
Vermont State Police said detectives started their investigation after receiving a report at about 9:50 a.m. on July 12, 2017, that Keith Johnson, 22, had been found dead inside a residence on North Main Street in Londonderry.
The two-count federal indictment alleges that from September 2016 to July 2017, Slade “used and maintained a place” — 951 Thompsonburg Road in Londonderry — for “manufacturing, distributing and using controlled substances.”
The second charge alleges that “on or about July 11, 2017,” Slade distributed heroin to a person identified in the filing as “K.J,” which was a day before police say they found Johnson dead in a Londonderry residence.
A federal grand jury in Vermont returned the indictment against Slade on June 30. The document was sealed until last week after Slade was arrested.
Slade, who appeared at Friday’s hearing via video from a jail cell in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, told the judge he’s been working for the past two years at a landscaping business based in Bondville.
Perella, the prosecutor, said in court that the four-year investigation had uncovered a great deal of evidence in the case.
“There is extensive electronic evidence in the form of cell phone downloads, telephone, toll records, surveillance videos,” Perella said. “There are several witnesses that are on the government witness list.”
Doyle set a deadline of Oct. 7 for attorney Barclay Johnson, a public defender representing Slade, to file pretrial motions.
“We agree that 90 days is appropriate,” Johnson said. “The alleged offense is a number of years old so it will require us to look into it.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Londonderry man denies federal charges tied to 2017 overdose death.