One of two brothers that operated a major drug trafficking ring along the so-called “Heroin Highway” in Stannard was sentenced

One of two brothers that operated a major drug trafficking ring along the so-called “Heroin Highway” in Stannard was sentenced Friday to nearly three years in federal prison. Gage Colson, 23, got a break from the prosecution and the sentencing judge because he accepted responsibility and questions about his cognitive and emotional disabilities, background and psychiatric diagnoses. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss ruled the 35-month federal term would be concurrent to any sentence imposed on Colson in a pending domestic assault case in state court in Caledonia County.  The legislature is raising the age of young adult offenders to 23 years old, so they are called Youthful Offenders, and their confidential hearings are held behind closed doors. Their records also will be expunged so the public or law enforcement will never know about past criminal conduct, even if they get arrested again. Reiss also told Colson he would be on federal supervised release for four years once he is discharged from prison.