BRANDON — Police raided the home of a Brandon man late last week and arrested him on 10 drugs and firearms charges.
On Nov. 1, detectives with the Vermont Drug Task Force arrested Harold Paul Mahoney, 61, at his trailer on Conway Terrace.
On Monday, Mahoney pleaded innocent in Rutland Superior Court, criminal division, to four counts of selling crack cocaine, one count of possession of crack cocaine, a count of possession of a narcotic, and four counts of possessing a firearm after being prohibited from doing so because he was convicted of a violent crime.
Police said Mahoney’s arrest for sale of crack cocaine came after a five-month investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force, which was assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation involved the use of confidential informants who purchased crack cocaine from Mahoney on multiple occasions starting this past June.
Immediately following Mahoney’s arrest, the Vermont Drug Task Force, FBI, Brandon Police Department, and troopers from the Rutland barracks executed a search warrant at Mahoney’s residence. Detectives said that during the search they found approximately 20 grams of cocaine, buprenorphine pills, two long guns, a revolver, and a 9mm handgun with a full magazine.
Police said they also found two stolen motorcycles outside.
Mahoney is prohibited from possessing a firearm under Vermont state law because he has four previous convictions for violation of an abuse prevention order. Mahoney was convicted of a misdemeanor violation of an abuse prevention order in 2001 and was subsequently convicted of three felony counts of violation of an abuse prevention order in 2003.
Police lodged Mahoney at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility on Friday for lack of $2,000 bail.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Vermont Drug Task Force at (802)773-9101 or submit a tip anonymously via www.VTIPS.info.