A Duxbury man, who lived at a home on Route 100 where officials say a woman had a fatal drug overdose in 2017, will be supervised for the next three years by the U.S. Probation Office.

Mark E. Russell, 60, was told in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Monday that he also will get credit for serving about two months in prison before he was released last year to enroll in a drug rehab program at Valley Vista in Bradford.

Russell, also known as “Snake,” pleaded not guilty in April 2018 to operating a drug house at 3810 Route 100 and allowing multiple people to sell drugs there, primarily crack cocaine.

In November, he admitted to a felony — allowing an out-of-state drug dealer to use the house in exchange for user-quantity pieces of crack, records show.

And now, authorities say, he has turned his life around.

Senior Federal Judge William K. Sessions III initially appeared somewhat skeptical about the plea agreement negotiated by federal public defender Michael Desautels and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but eventually allowed the agreement to go through.

The judge warned Russell that, going forward, he controlled whether Russell would ever go back to prison. The judge said the failure to stay clean would bring him back to court.

Russell could have been imprisoned for up to 20 years and fined up to $500,000.

Russell’s criminal record includes five felony convictions, records show, but they are considered old, and three cases of failure to appear for court hearings.

“You have been drug-free,” Sessions told Russell, who had a short ponytail, goatee and wore glasses.

Desautels said Russell is working with his brother installing and taping drywall each day and painting.

“He is keeping himself clean. He is doing all the right things. He went from being a severe user to being clean,” Desautels said in his sentencing memorandum.

“He has willpower,” Desautels told the court. He said Russell is staying away from people who will take him down the wrong road.

‘Great strides’

Three people, including the daughter of a former Vermont State Police captain, wrote supportive letters for Russell. They all noted Russell had struggled with addiction for a long time, but has turned the corner.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Perella agreed:

“It appears the defendant has taken great strides on his road to recovery and should be commended and rewarded with the time-served sentence,” he wrote in his sentencing memorandum.

Perella said there is no evidence Russell provided the drugs to a young woman who overdosed at his home in November 2017.

However, “it was exceedingly foreseeable that this catastrophic outcome could occur when he chose to open his home to drug dealers and other users,” Perella wrote.

Lily Kendall McCausland, 27, of Warren died on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, one day after she was stricken at Russell’s home, public records show. The location is described as a “friend’s residence” on the death certificate.

McCausland died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of morphine, fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl,” according to Dr. Kristin Roman of the chief medical examiner’s office.

Perella said Russell has “accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct and has provided the court with evidence that he can be a responsible, law-abiding member of the community.”

Desautels said Russell was not in the drug world to get rich; rather, he made the arrangement to obtain crack cocaine for himself.

U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan stated that this case is part of a renewed commitment by her office to deter Vermont residents from assisting larger-scale, out-of-state drug dealers by providing a local shelter or base camp for their drug trafficking operations in Vermont. Often, the individuals who house the out-of-state dealers are themselves addicts who, as here, receive payment in the form of drugs.

Learning to avoid drugs

Russell, who was in a wheelchair when arraigned a year ago, walked into court under his own power and chatted with both Desautels and Perella while waiting for the hearing to begin.

Russell said his stay at Valley Vista had helped him learn about avoiding drugs and people involved with drugs.

During a court hearing a year ago, Federal Magistrate John M. Conroy noted Russell had an unaddressed heroin and cocaine problem. Russell had used heroin through an I.V. and cocaine within the week before his arrest, records showed.

He was charged under what is known as the federal “Crack House Statute,” but it is not restricted to crack cocaine. The law covers unlawfully storing, distributing, manufacturing and using controlled substances at a residence.

McCausland’s death

Nobody has ever been charged in connection with the death of McCausland, who had worked in the food and ski industry.

McCausland attended Harwood Union High School in South Duxbury, where she participated in cross country, track, tennis and snowboarding.

Vermont State Police responded to a report of an unresponsive woman at Russell’s home at about 1:30 p.m. Nov. 10, 2017. Waterbury Ambulance also responded and attempted lifesaving methods on McCausland inside the house before taking her to the intensive care unit at the UVM Medical Center.

McCausland was pronounced dead the following day at 12:17 p.m., records show.

Police said she had drug charges pending in Bennington County when she died.

Trooper Cody Sholtes had stopped McCausland on Route 7 in Sunderland at 6:40 p.m. July 9, 2017, a news release said.

Sholtes said that, after a court-ordered search of her vehicle, charges of possession of heroin, transportation of heroin into Vermont and possession of a stimulant, depressant or narcotics drug were pursued against her.

Sholtes said the charges were dismissed after she died.

McCausland attended Harwood Union High School in South Duxbury. She enjoyed cross-country, track, tennis and snowboarding, according to her obituary.

“Always a kind and thoughtful young lady, Lily was funny, dry-humored, loved to dance and was kind to all she connected with. We miss her terribly,” it said.

This case was investigated by the Vermont State Police, the DEA, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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