by Joseph Gresser
NEWPORT — Judge Rory Thibault, sitting in the Criminal Division of Orleans County Superior Court, set bail at $10,000 for Brandon Cote, 34, of Newport. Mr. Cote pled innocent to two felony charges of selling cocaine along with charges of possession of cocaine and narcotics. In the first of three affidavits, Vermont State Police Detective Sergeant Steven Fauteux said he was part of the Vermont Drug Task Force and was focusing an investigation on Mr. Cote and a woman.
Sergeant Fauteux said police believed Mr. Cote and the woman were selling crack cocaine and fentanyl in the Orleans County area. The affidavit says the task force found a confidential informant who agreed to help the investigation in return for consideration in a case pending against the informant.
The affidavit said the drug task force had worked successfully with the informant in the past. According to the affidavit in December 2024, the informant set up a meeting with Mr. Cote to buy cocaine and was furnished with money and recording equipment.
Sergeant Fauteux said officers watched the informant interact with Mr. Cote, apparently in Newport — …
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