Felon Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm During Daytime Armed Assaults in Burlington, Vermont (DOJ)

BURLINGTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont stated that on June 16, 2026, Jason Douglas, age 42, of Saint Albans, Vermont, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 65 months' imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Douglas pleaded guilty on February 26, 2026 to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, during the middle of the day on July 29, 2024, Burlington Police Officers responded to College Street in Burlington, Vermont after reports that a man, later identified as Douglas, had pointed a firearm at another man during a dispute. Security footage from the area confirmed witness reports that Douglas had emerged from a vehicle carrying a handgun, loaded a round into the chamber of the firearm, and pointed the firearm at another man. While officers were investigating this first incident, officers received another report of Douglas pulling a handgun on a man during a fight on Main Street in Burlington. Douglas's vehicle was located shortly thereafter, and a Ruger LCP .380-caliber pistol, loaded with a round in the chamber, was seized from the driver's side of the vehicle. Douglas has an extensive criminal history in both Grand Isle and Franklin Counties, including convictions for kidnapping, burglary, unlawful restraint, domestic assault, simple assault, and hindering arrest. Some of these convictions stemmed from Douglas's involvement in a violent armed home invasion in 2003 and a violent armed altercation in 2005. Douglas's prior felony convictions prohibited Douglas from possessing a firearm under federal law.

First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the swift intervention of the Burlington Police Department to disarm Douglas, and thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for their investigatory assistance. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ophardt added: "Douglas twice engaged in brazen daytime armed assaults in downtown Burlington with a loaded handgun. Dedicated officers of the Burlington Police Department took quick action and promptly apprehended Douglas. I am extremely grateful for the partnership of BPD and ATF; together we will continue to hold violent offenders like Douglas accountable through federal prosecutions."

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wendy Fuller and David Golubock. Douglas was represented by Devin McLaughlin, Esq.