Burlington City Hall is reflected in Good Times Gallery’s window. Credit: John James

Updated 10:25 p.m.

Authorities seized a loaded handgun, five ounces of marijuana and more than $11,000 in cash during a Tuesday raid on a Church Street business, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan alleged in a two-count criminal complaint that Good Times Gallery owner Derek Spilman possessed a firearm while distributing marijuana. In court papers, authorities said that Spilman had sold pot to minors, including a young woman who allegedly became ill after consuming a bag of edible gummies.

Spilman was released on conditions Wednesday after an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Speaking to the press after the hearing, Nolan said the presence of firearms in the store was “a very significant factor” in the feds’ decision to take action, as was the store’s location on a prominent pedestrian thoroughfare.

Nolan noted that marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law. And though she acknowledged that Vermont legalized the personal possession and cultivation of pot last summer, she said, “This conduct is not even close to legal under state law.”

Spilman did not speak to reporters as he exited the courthouse. David McColgin, a federal public defender who represented Spilman in court, declined to comment on Wednesday evening.

As Seven Days reported Tuesday, authorities knew about Spilman’s alleged conduct for months before taking action. According to court papers, the Burlington Police Department received at least three tips in September and October that Good Times was dealing pot to minors. When an officer approached Spilman in October, he said he only sold legal CBD products — and only to those over 21.

Acting on a tip, a state Division of Liquor Control officer entered the shop under cover in December and witnessed Spilman selling what appeared to be marijuana, the court papers said. The officer seized more than two pounds of “green leafy bud material” and observed a loaded Hi-Point .380-caliber handgun behind the counter.

Even after that bust, Spilman allegedly continued dealing. Last Friday, an undercover Burlington officer posed as a customer and bought marijuana buds and edibles from Spilman, court papers say.

Nolan said she learned of the investigation Monday and decided to act quickly because, in her view, Spilman posed a risk to the public.

During Tuesday’s bust, officers found a second gun, a Ruger 9mm, which was also loaded. In addition to the marijuana, they seized a bottle of suspected amphetamines.

Nolan said the maximum penalties Spilman faces are five years in prison for the drug charge and 10 years for the gun charge.

Nolan’s office initially sought to detain Spilman until trial, citing “concerns regarding the defendant’s mental health.” Prosecutors subsequently withdrew the motion. Spilman is due in court again on February 20.

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Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

19 replies on “Feds Say Burlington Pot Shop Owner Possessed Guns, Sold to Minors”

  2. I don’t think he should have been selling to underage kids. Having a loaded gun, is not a crime. Having $11,000 in cash is not a crime, especially for a business. His crime, I believe is having so much pot in one location and selling to minors. And I don’t know about the amphetamine bottle. None of us do. Maybe it was his? I don’t know. But, definitely sensationalism here.

  3. Ah, yes. This isn’t about somebody illegally selling psychoactive drugs to minors! No, it’s about the bourgeoisie controlling the means of production! Workers (and potheads) of the world unite! Freedom to toke! Vive la Revolution! Take to the streets!

    Or, just go back to your room and have another hit.

  6. He apparently wasn’t too worried about getting busted. What was his big crime? Oh yeah, premature commercialization. Neither he nor any of us should be stupidly sitting around waiting for Phil Scott’s mythical pie-in-the-sky saliva test. Time to begin a French-like flannel-vest movement. From Mayor Weinberger’s toxic matrix to incrementalist Scott, we’re all ripe for popular democracy and non-violent civil disobedience to break out. Bourgeois representative democracy has failed us

  7. Why is the firearm aspect part of the story? I’m going to guess sensationalism since zero follow effort is used to say why the firearm possession is illegal.

    “During Tuesdays bust, officers found a second gun, a Ruger 9mm, which was also loaded”

    A handgun…………and it’s LOADED! Yup. No point is having a handgun if it isn’t loaded.

  8. I wish there was a place that adults could go and safely purchase high quality, local, standard certified cannabis. A place that would proliferate positive experiences within the cannabis industry. A place that would gladly educate and inform customers on the risks and benefits of the products that they will consume. The cannabis industry can be done right in Vermont. We could produce great Vermont grown products. We could employ numerous Vermonters in an industry that they love. Growing cannabis is a awesome natural craft and the rewards are great. Let’s do this right in Vermont, so we don’t have to hear these negative stories that drag down a potentially joyful industry. Let’s uphold a standard that is better than anywhere else in the world. This positive outlook alone; would diminish a large portion of the negative stigma associated with cannabis. We need the right people to be at the forefront of this industry shift. Let us know when we can start?

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