By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—On Friday, March 1 at 10 p.m., four local residents were arrested in Brandon after police found 33 counterfeit $100 bills, 6.3 grams (packaged) of crack cocaine, and a loaded gun in the car they were driving. The four men—Bryden Alger (23, Brandon), Joseph Brown (49, Leicester), Jeremiah Cole (30, Leicester), and Cale Quenneville (30, Brandon)—were charged with forgery/counterfeiting and possession of crack cocaine, among other offenses.
According to Brandon Police Chief David Kachajian, the Brandon Police Department (BPD) had been investigating the production and distribution of counterfeit bills in the region when an officer pulled the men over on Arnold District Road for an expired registration and recognized them as suspects in the probe. Also according to Kachajian, the investigation was triggered by the dissemination of counterfeit bills at local businesses that alerted BPD. No other suspects are known at this time.
BPD’s K-9 unit assisted in the arrest, alerting officers to the presence of the crack cocaine.
Chief Kachajian issued the following statement on Monday:
On March 1, 2024, as part of an ongoing investigation by the Brandon Police Department into the production and dissemination of counterfeit money being used in and around Rutland and Addison Counties, a motor vehicle stop was conducted at Arnold District Road and Adams Road on a suspect vehicle that had an expired registration. The investigating officer immediately recognized the occupants of the vehicle as being the suspects involved in the counterfeiting investigation and requested back-up as one of the suspects had a history of gun violence as well as fleeing from law enforcement. A felony stop was conducted on the vehicle and evidence of drug activity was later observed in the truck. The Brandon Police K-9 Unit was brought in with K-9 Guinness making a positive open air hit on the vehicle for the presence of drugs. The vehicle was later seized and a search warrant was applied for and granted on the truck.
A subsequent search of the vehicle found 33-counterfeit $100 bills for a total amount of $3,300, 6.3 packaged weight grams of Crack Cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded handgun. As a result of this investigation, Jeremiah Cole (30 of Leicester, VT) and Joseph Brown (49 of Leicester, VT) are facing pending charges for the crimes of Forgery/Counterfeiting and Possession of Crack Cocaine. Bryden Alger (23 of Brandon, VT), and Cale Quenneville (30 of Brandon, VT) were taken into custody prior to the vehicle being searched and later lodged at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. Cale Quenneville was flash cited to appear in the Rutland County Superior Court-Criminal Division on March 4, 2024 for arraignment on the charges of Counterfeiting/Forgery, and from a previous investigation being conducted by the Brandon Police Department; for Eluding a Police Officer in a Grossly Negligent Manner, Driving With a Criminally Suspended Drivers License, Reckless Endangerment, Excessive Speed, and Grossly Negligent Operation. Bryden Alger was also flash cited to appear in the Rutland County Superior Court-Criminal Division on March 4, 2024 for arraignment on the charges of Counterfeiting/Forgery. Quenneville and Alger are also facing pending charges of Possession of Crack Cocaine. The Brandon Police were assisted on the motor vehicle stop by the Royalton Police Department, Pittsford Police Department, and the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigation is still ongoing.
The Reporter will continue to provide information on the case as it becomes available.
