An adult and a juvenile pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges Tuesday in connection with the Aug. 11 beating in Burlington and subsequent death of a South Burlington resident.
Scott Kastner, 42, was allegedly the victim of a “frenzied mob style assault” by a group of people around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, according to Burlington police.
The attack began in an alley off Church Street and spilled on to City Hall Park. The victim was “savagely punched and kicked” while he was on the ground, causing a severe brain bleed that prompted emergency intubation and surgery at the University of Vermont Medical Center, according to court documents.
Kastner died five days later from complications due to blunt force trauma to the head, and the medical examiner preliminarily ruled his death a homicide, according to police.
Originally from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Kastner leaves behind four children, six siblings and his parents, according to his obituary.
Police arrested one of the suspects on Friday and another on Saturday. At least three other minors have also been charged in relation to the case, police said.
Isaiah Argro, 26, of Queens, New York, and a 16-year-old Colchester resident VTDigger is not naming, were ordered held without bail by Judge Timothy Doherty after arraignments Tuesday morning in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington. The juvenile was charged as an adult.
A second-degree murder conviction carries up to a life sentence, with a presumptive minimum term of 20 years, according to the charge sheet filed by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Argro, who also uses the last name Agro, allegedly punched Kastner in the head approximately 10 times, police wrote in court documents. He is being held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.
The teenage defendant allegedly hit Kastner in the head approximately six times and pointed a gun at him, according to court documents.
The judge further ordered the defendants must not have contact with each other nor with a woman who was a witness, according to court documents. Argro has previous criminal charges in New York, police said.
Amid continued debates about safety downtown, the Burlington City Council last week passed a resolution that includes increasing police presence, among other measures, to help create a safer and more welcoming City Hall Park. It also passed a companion ordinance for some less serious violations to be processed through a restorative justice system.
