A wanted federal suspect was living at residences in Orleans County

BURLINGTON – A wanted federal suspect, who authorities say was living at residences in Orleans County when two drug-related homicides were reported in Newport Town and Troy over four months, was ordered jailed on Monday. Holly Fields Jr., 55, pleaded not guilty in federal court to a charge of operating a drug house in Troy with his daughter, Bryanna Fields Rooney, 29, and her husband, Thomas P. Rooney, 34, both of Troy, between early December 2023 and Feb. 7. The trio is charged that as owners of a home at 7021 Vermont 100, they allowed the residence to be used for the unlawful manufacturing, storing, distributing and using of both cocaine and fentanyl, a federal indictment said. The drug charges stem from an investigation that included the fatal shooting of a woman found in the Missisquoi River in Troy in February.