A Springfield, Massachusetts man has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy that operated in Central Vermont. Justin Llano, 25, received a 120-month sentence from United States District Judge William K. Sessions III on March 2, 2026. He will also serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Llano had previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine base in Central Vermont across two separate cases. Court documents indicate that the drug operation spanned several years, with activity occurring during both 2021-2022 and again in 2023-2024. Llano worked with his brother Joseph Llano, uncles Tanashe Edwards and Edwin Davila, as well as other co-conspirators to traffic cocaine base and fentanyl from Massachusetts into Vermont. The group’s customers were located throughout Washington, Orange, and Lamoille counties.
The investigation revealed that law enforcement made two controlled purchases directly from Llano before his initial arrest in May 2022. During one transaction on April 22, 2022, he was armed with a handgun and wearing body armor; additional firearms were found at the location. Authorities determined that Llano used some of his customers to acquire firearms in Vermont which he then transported back to Massachusetts for profit.
In September 2022, Llano was arrested by Springfield Police for unlawful firearm possession but later failed to report to pre-trial services for his Vermont federal case, becoming a fugitive. While evading authorities beginning in 2023, he resumed trafficking drugs into Vermont by directing “runners” from Massachusetts and organizing couriers who made approximately 100 trips between Springfield and Central Vermont over the course of the conspiracy. By late 2024, these trips occurred multiple times each week with couriers bringing up to 60 grams of cocaine base per trip as well as fentanyl.
Drug transactions were often arranged through a popular social media messaging app. In one instance in September 2024, after a runner reported missing proceeds from sales, an armed associate of Llano threatened individuals at the residence where drugs were being distributed. A subsequent search by ATF and DEA led to the seizure of cocaine and fentanyl at that location.
First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt acknowledged the efforts of several agencies involved: “the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, Barre Town Police Department, Barre City Police Department, Berlin Police Department, and Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Turner prosecuted the case while Allan Sullivan represented Justin Llano.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative aiming to combat illegal immigration as well as eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
