BURLINGTON — Authorities say that Melvin Hill, 42, of the state of Georgia, appeared yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington on a criminal complaint charging him with distributing fentanyl.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle ordered that Hill be detained without bail pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
According to court records, in January 2022, a confidential source told law enforcement that they could buy narcotics from Hill.
In February and March, this source made two controlled purchases of fentanyl from Hill in transactions that were recorded, police say.
Officers learned that Hill was staying at the Doubletree Hotel in South Burlington.
They obtained a state court warrant to search Hill’s hotel room and the car he had been driving.
Officers arrested Hill on March 10 and recovered a loaded pistol and crack cocaine from his person.
In his car and hotel room, officers seized hundreds of folds of heroin, hundreds of pills containing fentanyl, powder cocaine, and methamphetamine.
They also found around $13,000 in cash.
If convicted, Hill faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
