Cody Ahonen Imprisoned on Drug and Firearms Charges
BURLINGTON, Vt. - The United States Attorney’s Office stated that Cody Ahonen, 29, of Mt. Holly, Vermont was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 48 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to possessing cocaine and cocaine base with intent to distribute and possessing firearms as a prohibited person. United States District Judge Christina Reiss ordered that Ahonen serve three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term and forfeit firearms that were seized during this investigation. Ahonen has been incarcerated since his arrest in September 2021.
According to public records, on September 15, 2021, Vermont State Police arrested Ahonen after they responded to a motor vehicle incident on U.S. Route 4 near Killington. During investigation at the scene and after executing search warrants for Ahonen’s car and hotel room, law enforcement seized two handguns, a rifle, ammunition and about 175 grams of cocaine and cocaine base. Ahonen is prohibited from possessing any firearms because he was previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. In his guilty plea last summer, Ahonen admitted that he intended to distribute the seized drugs.
This case was investigated by the Vermont State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Ahonen was represented by Robert Sussman, Esq. The prosecutor was Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn