Federal prosecutors in Vermont are awaiting word from U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi on whether they will seek the death penalty in the case against a former Stowe man charged in the 2023 fatal shooting of two Massachusetts men. 

Theodore Bland, 30, had been indicted by a grand jury earlier this year in Vermont with federal crimes that could carry the possibility of the death penalty, if he were to be convicted. 

During a hearing Monday, federal Judge William K. Sessions III asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Turner, one of the prosecutors in the case, about how the parties were moving the case forward. 

“I’d like to know what the status is,” Sessions said to Turner.

“At this point,” Turner replied, “we are awaiting a decision of the attorney general with regard to whether the government intends to seek capital punishment in this case.” 

Turner said attorneys for the prosecution and defense both met with a committee at the U.S. Department of Justice to make their cases about their positions on whether the death penalty should be pursued in the case.

Sessions then asked if Turner had an “expected timeline” for Bondi’s decision. 

“I do not, your honor,” Turner responded. 

According to federal prosecutors, an indictment against Bland charged him with using and carrying “a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime causing the deaths of Jahim Solomon and Eric White in circumstances that constitute murder under federal law.”

On Oct. 25, 2023, Vermont State Police said authorities found the bodies of Solomon, 21, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and White, 21, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, in a wooded area of Eden, about a mile apart from each other. 

Both men, according to state police, had been fatally shot.

About 10 days before their bodies were found, state police said that their families had reported them missing. The families also reported that the men had been not in contact for several days and were last known to be in Vermont.

Court records filed in Bland’s federal case stated that the killings took place on Oct. 12, 2023, when “Bland’s firearm discharges caused the deaths of Jahim Solomon and Eric White.”

Dilan Jiron, 21 and a co-defendant in the case, entered into a plea deal with prosecutors in July. He pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess a firearm in a drug trafficking crime and helping Bland cover up the fatal shootings. 

Jiron, formerly of Hyde Park, faces up to 23 years in prison on the two charges. He is set to be sentenced in October. 

Vermont last carried out an execution in 1954. The state no longer has a death penalty statute on the books. However, Bland’s case was brought under federal law, which does permit the death penalty as a punishment for certain crimes. 

Former President Joseph Biden had imposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty, but President Donald Trump lifted that moratorium through an executive order after taking office in January.

Bondi has already approved pursuing the death penalty in another Vermont case brought in federal court against Teresa Youngblut, 21. Prosecutors have accused Youngblut of fatally shooting David Maland, a border patrol agent, in January during a traffic stop on Interstate 91 in Coventry. 

Youngblut, formerly of Washington state, pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Burlington to a new indictment brought in the case that included capital crimes, including one for murder in Maland’s death. Youngblut has been linked to a group known as the Zizians, whose members have been connected to several other homicides across the country.

Attorneys in Bland’s case said during Monday’s hearing that the prosecution has worked to provide the defense lawyers with evidence related to the case. 

“So then all parties are awaiting a decision from the attorney general from the Department of Justice,” Sessions, the judge, said as the hearing came to a close. “Once that decision is made perhaps we can have another status conference and see where we go from there.”  

Read the story on VTDigger here: U.S. attorney general to decide whether to seek death penalty for double slaying in Vermont.

This story was updated at 6:56 p.m.

BURLINGTON — Teresa Youngblut pleaded not guilty Friday to federal criminal charges that could carry the death penalty in the fatal shooting of a border patrol agent in northern Vermont.

Youngblut appeared at the hearing in federal court in Burlington in an oversized gray crewneck with braided hair. It was the first court hearing since prosecutors obtained an indictment with upgraded charges last month and filed notice they will seek Youngblut’s execution, if convicted of the capital crimes.   

Dennis Robinson, one of three federal prosecutors in court, told the judge near the close of Friday’s hearing that the government’s probe was continuing.

“We are still actively investigating the case,” he said, adding there are “individuals that have worked together to commit the crimes we are investigating.” 

Robinson did not provide names during the hearing of any other people who may be under investigation, or what crimes they may have committed. But he did say he has reason to believe individuals associated with a group are working together and communicating. 

Youngblut, a 21-year-old former Seattle resident, stood beside attorneys and gazed down at the defendant’s table and entered denials to each charge through a green medical mask.

Judge Christina Reiss started with the murder count, asking Youngblut after reading the charge from the indictment, “How do you plead?”

“I plead not guilty,” Youngblut said. 

Youngblut had initially been charged earlier this year with federal firearms and assault charges in connection with a traffic stop that led to the fatal shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland on Interstate 91 in Coventry on the afternoon of Jan. 20. 

The latest indictment charges Youngblut with murdering Maland and assaulting two other agents with a deadly weapon. The upgraded charges allege for the first time that Youngblut fired the fatal shot. 

Youngblut remains held without bail following Friday’s hearing. Youngblut’s parents sat in the second row of the courtroom, about 15 feet behind the defendant’s table.

Prosecutors alleged in charging documents that after the traffic stop on I-91, Youngblut exited the Toyota Prius that had been pulled over and opened fire, resulting in a shootout with law enforcement. 

Maland, 44, of Newport, was killed in the exchange of gunfire, court documents stated, as was Felix Bauckholt, a German national and a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving.

Youngblut and Bauckholt had been linked to a loosely connected group of people known as the Zizians, whose members have been tied to at least six homicides across the country, including a landlord in California and a couple in Pennsylvania.  

Prosecutors in Youngblut’s case have considered federal capital charges for some time, with U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi signaling shortly after taking office in February that she would be pushing for the charges as well.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his inauguration day Jan. 20 — the same day as Maland’s fatal shooting — lifting a moratorium on the federal death penalty that was put in place during the Biden administration.

Bondi, in a later directive to federal prosecutors across the country, specifically cited Maland’s death as a case where capital charges would be warranted. 

Vermont has not carried out an execution since 1954, and the state no longer has the death penalty, but Youngblut was charged in federal court, where capital punishment remains an option.

And that option loomed over the discussion in court Friday. The prosecution and defense had a lengthy debate about the sharing of material in the case. Reiss, the judge, said the goal was to prevent the prosecution from obtaining information they were not entitled to have access to. 

Attorneys on both sides answered questions from the judge and proposed protocols to keep that from happening. 

Youngblut’s lawyers argued it was an “unacceptable risk” for privileged information to end up in the hands of the prosecution. 

“That does change every aspect of how we proceed,” attorney Julie Stelzig, one of three lawyers representing Youngblut, told the judge of the death penalty now on the table. Stelzig also spoke of the “heightened scrutiny” that has been brought to the case with the prosecution seeking her client’s execution. 

Stelzig raised specific concerns that Youngblut’s confidential medical records would be incorrectly opened as part of the case. “Our client was shot and is still receiving frequent medical treatment” in jail, she said, referring to injuries Youngblut sustained in the shootout. 

Youngblut’s parents remained silent when asked questions by reporters and walked swiftly past them outside the courthouse following Friday’s hearing. They got into their car across the street and stared straight ahead as they drove away.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Teresa Youngblut denies murder charge, other offenses, in fatal shooting of border patrol agent.

Updated at 4:35 p.m.

BURLINGTON — A Shelburne police sergeant has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge that will allow him to avoid jail time for striking and killing a cyclist with his cruiser while on duty. Prosecutors say he was driving faster than the posted speed limit.  

Kyle Kapitanski, 42, entered the guilty plea Thursday morning in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington to a misdemeanor charge of negligent operation with death resulting in the November crash that killed 38-year-old Sean Hayes, of Burlington.

As part of the plea deal with prosecutors, Kapitanski was sentenced to six to 12 months in jail, all suspended. In addition, he was ordered to serve two years on probation and during that time he will be required to participate in a restorative justice program. 

Judge Timothy Doherty, in accepting the plea agreement, called the case a “tragedy.”

The courtroom was full for Thursday’s hearing, with many of Hayes’ friends and family members in the gallery.

Hayes’ estate has also brought a civil lawsuit against the town of Shelburne in connection with the fatal crash. 

According to court documents in the criminal case, Kapitanski was behind the wheel of a Shelburne Police Ford Explorer cruiser early on the morning of Nov. 11, 2024, when he struck and killed Hayes on Shelburne Road in South Burlington.

Kapitanski was initially charged with a felony offense of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting. That charge carries a possible penalty of up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

Vermont State Police investigators who led the probe into the incident alleged in an initial affidavit that Kapitanski was driving his cruiser about 40 to 45 mph in a 35 mph zone near an intersection with Fayette Drive when the crash occurred.

Leading up to the crash, the affidavit stated, Kapitanski had YouTube videos playing on a computer tablet mounted in his cruiser. A review of that device showed “several” YouTube web addresses accessed between 2:29 a.m. and 2:40 a.m, the court document stated.

The review by investigators also stated there was “no evidence of user interaction” with the device during that time period. The crash took place at about 2:40 a.m.

The investigator’s review found that the last web browser video “appeared visually consistent” with what was shown on Kapitanski’s body-worn camera, the affidavit stated.

A link to the last video was provided in the filing and it was titled, “Trans woman CONFRONTING Matt Walsh takes UNEXPECTED turn.” 

David Sleigh, an attorney representing Kapitanski, contended there was no proof his client was distracted while driving by videos. 

The misdemeanor charge Kapitanski pleaded guilty to was based on Kapitanski’s speed above the posted limit, Deputy State’s Attorney Matthew Dolezal, a prosecutor in the case who specializes in traffic offenses, said in court Thursday.

State police said the roadway where the crash took place was wet from rain at the time of the crash.

Hayes had been seen in a video taken from a nearby business standing within the roadway but near the curb with his bicycle that had been towing a trailer, according to court documents.

A police affidavit also stated it appeared Hayes was adjusting the bicycle and trailer before he started walking southbound along with the bicycle when Kapitanski’s cruiser struck him.

Through the restorative justice process as outlined in the plea agreement, Dolezal said in court, Kapitanski “must fully acknowledge how his negligent driving caused Sean Hayes’ death and eroded the community’s trust in law enforcement.” 

Dolezal added that Kapitanski’s possible return to working in law enforcement has “effectively” been prevented.  

Sleigh, Kapitanski’s attorney, said in court it is unlikely his client will ever work in law enforcement again, telling the judge Thursday’s resolution of the criminal case “probably brings that career to an end.” 

The Shelburne Police Department placed Kapitanski on paid leave following the crash. 

Shelburne Town Manager Matthew Lawless said in a statement Thursday that Kapitanski remained on paid administrative leave. The town, Lawless added, “will review formal court records once they are available, to conclude our internal investigation and take all appropriate action.”

Kapitanski, offered the opportunity to address the court during Thursday’s hearing, declined.

Donna Hayes, Sean Hayes’ mother, wrote in a statement read in court Thursday by victim’s advocate Karen Burns about the impact the death of her son has had on her and his family. 

“Our family was shattered that day and I was robbed of the chance to ever say goodbye to him,” Donna Hayes said in the statement.

She described her son as a person who was full of energy, and kind and generous toward others. 

“His daughters were the absolute light of his life,” Donna Hayes said in the statement. 

Donna Hayes also said in the statement that the loss of her son has led to sleepless nights and hindered her ability to focus. 

“Most days I struggle to find a reason to even get out of bed,” she said, adding, “There was no last hug, no final I love you.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Shelburne police sergeant reaches plea deal, avoids jail time for deadly crash.

Updated at 4:54 p.m.

The Vermont Supreme Court has upheld the murder and attempted murder convictions for a Burlington man sentenced to at least 27 years in prison for killing his wife and seriously injuring her mother with a meat cleaver. 

A jury convicted Aita Gurung following a trial in November 2022 of first-degree murder in the death of his 32-year-old wife, Yogeswari Khadka, at their home in Burlington on Oct. 12, 2017. In addition, the jury also found Gurung guilty of attempted second-degree murder for seriously injuring his mother-in-law, Tulasa Rimal, in the same attack.

Gurung’s attorneys appealed the convictions to the Vermont Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case in June. 

His lawyers raised several arguments to support their contentions that the convictions should be thrown out, from claiming problems with the jury selection process to disputing whether the Vermont Attorney General’s Office should have been able to refile the charges against their client after they were dismissed by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“Defendant finally argues that the cumulative impact of all the alleged errors amounts to a denial of due process and a fair trial,” Justice Nancy Waples wrote in the 37-page unanimous ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court released Friday. 

“Because we have concluded there are no prejudicial errors presented, there is no basis for such a conclusion,” Waples added. “We thus affirm defendant’s convictions.”

The case has been working its way through the legal system for several years, as issues raised about Gurung’s mental health at the time of the attack, and leading up to it, were examined and litigated. 

In 2019, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George dismissed the charges against Gurung, as well as two other defendants in high-profile cases. 

George contended that she could not rebut insanity defenses in those cases based on expert opinions. Gov. Phil Scott called on then-Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan to review those cases. Donovan opted to refile charges in each of them.

In the ruling Friday, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled the Vermont Attorney General’s Office did have the authority to refile the charges.

Gurung’s trial largely dealt with the defense contention that he was insane at the time of the attack on his wife and mother. The prosecution challenged that assertion, arguing it was a case of domestic violence and Gurung was fueled by anger after his wife would not get him a beer.

Gurung was later sentenced by Judge John Pacht to 35 years to life, with 27 years to serve and the remainder suspended on probation.

Gurung’s defense attorneys in the appeal raised issues with the jury instructions that they claimed confused jurors about the consequences of a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict.

Nine of the 12 jurors signed and submitted a letter to the court after the verdict.

“On behalf of myself and the members of the jury named below, I write to advocate strongly for continued hospitalization of Mr. Gurung in a secure psychiatric care facility rather than imprisonment in a correctional facility due to the severity of his mental illness,” one of the jurors wrote in the letter on behalf of the others.

Waples wrote in Friday’s high court opinion that the letter did not reflect jury confusion. 

“Instead, it reflects the jurors’ concern over the carceral consequences of a guilty verdict,” Waples wrote. “Moreover, the letter opens by stating: ‘it could not be proven that [defendant] met the test of insanity by a preponderance of the evidence as presented in this case.’”

Gurung’s attorneys had also contended in their appeal that there were problems during the trial with the court’s Nepali interpreter who translated the proceedings as they were happening to Gurung, who is Bhutanese. Gurung wore headphones throughout the trial to hear the interpreter’s voice. The appeal alleged that the interpreter did not complete sentences and at times used English words for legal terms, such as “defense” and “testimony.” 

And, according to the appeal, when Pacht, the trial court judge, heard concerns raised by Gurung’s attorney during the trial, the judge was “hostile” and “dismissive.” 

The Vermont Supreme Court ruling Friday stated that the judge acted within his bounds.

“In light of the arguments presented to the trial court,” Waples wrote, “we conclude that the court made a reasonable inquiry into the quality of the interpretation and took reasonable steps to ensure that the interpreters were providing competent interpretation.”

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said in a statement Friday she was pleased with the court’s ruling affirming the convictions. 

“This case has always been about seeking justice for the tragic acts of domestic violence committed against Yogeswari Khadka and Tulasa Rimal — two brave women whose strength and resilience continue to leave a lasting impact,” Clark said in the statement. 

Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, whose office is representing Gurung, could not be reached Friday for comment. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: State’s highest court affirms convictions for Burlington man in deadly meat cleaver attack .

Authorities are investigating after police fatally shot a man Thursday night in Springfield. 

Vermont State Police have released few details about what led to the fatal shooting, stating in a press release Friday morning that the “investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident is in its initial stages.”

Springfield Police Department officers and members of the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department were at the scene on Valley Street in Springfield when the shooting occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the release stated. 

No law enforcement members were injured in the incident. The man, who was not identified in the release, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The deceased man’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives and further investigation, the release stated. The names of the officers involved will be released 24 hours after the incident, which is standard protocol following a police shooting, according to the release. 

Following its investigation, the release stated, state police will turn over the case to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and a county attorney’s office for separate independent reviews of the use of deadly force.

No other information was immediately available Friday morning.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Police shoot and kill a man in Springfield, few details provided as investigation continues.

Updated at 6:03 p.m.

A Morrisville man has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of a Hardwick woman two months ago in Vermont.

Michael A. Williams, 60, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon, according to Vermont State Police. 

He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Caledonia County Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury to charges of aggravated domestic assault and second-degree murder in the killing of Tina Daigle, 38, who authorities said was strangled to death.

Daigle was killed in Caledonia County on June 19, according to state police. Her body was left and then discovered on the side of Route 14 in Woodbury. 

Claire Burns, interim Caledonia County state’s attorney, argued during Wednesday’s court hearing for Williams to be held without bail.

“The weight of the evidence, the state contends, is great,” Burns told Judge Michael Kainen. “In this instance, we have a 17-page affidavit detailing roughly two months of thorough, consistent investigation undertaken by the Vermont State Police.” 

Williams has a previous conviction for aggravated domestic assault involving a different woman that resulted in a 10-year prison sentence, Burns said. “He was found guilty of having choked a girlfriend – eerily similar factual pattern to this instance,” Burns said.

Attorney Brandon Sheffert, representing WIlliams, opposed the prosecutor’s request to hold his client in custody without bail. Sheffert said Williams had lengthy ties to Vermont and was not a risk of flight. 

“My client, in the affidavit, went to the police on several occasions when requested to do interviews,” Sheffert said. “He has been in the area for two months. If he had wanted to flee, he could have back in June.”

Kainen sided with the prosecutor, ruling Williams would remain in custody without bail pending a hearing on the strength of the state’s evidence in the case. 

Police had released few details about the investigation leading up to Williams’ arrest Tuesday. More information became public Wednesday following his arraignment, when an affidavit of probable cause in support of the charges against him was released.

Williams, who had been interviewed several times as part of the investigation, told police he lived with Daigle and they had been in a relationship for about eight years, state police Detective Sgt. Drew Cota wrote in the affidavit. 

Daigle had recently told Williams she no longer wanted him to reside at the Hardwick residence, Daigle’s family members and Williams reported to police, according to the affidavit. 

Daigle’s family members told police about past alleged instances of abuse by Williams toward Daigle, and that she had obtained a restraining order against him in the past, the affidavit stated.

Williams told police that, on the night of June 18, Daigle left the residence and then returned early that morning only to leave again on her own, departing on foot away from the residence, according to the affidavit. However, according to the affidavit, police obtained video footage from a nearby residence that did not show anyone leaving the property on foot during the timeframe Williams said Daigle left the home. 

The video footage did show a vehicle coming and going from the property, the affidavit stated.  GPS data showed the vehicle left the property twice early on the morning of June 19 and traveled on Route 14 to the area of the pull off in Woodbury where Daigle’s body was later found, according to the affidavit. The GPS showed the vehicle stayed at the pull-off for a short period each time before returning to the Hardwick residence, the affidavit stated. 

When confronted during a police interview Tuesday about the GPS information from the vehicle, according to the affidavit, Williams denied driving into the pull-off or the woods where Daigle’s body was found.

Williams agreed Tuesday to take a polygraph and the results revealed “the accused showed deception on multiple questions regarding the murder of the victim,” according to the affidavit. 

If convicted of the murder charge alone, Williams faces a minimum sentence of 20 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison.  

Read the story on VTDigger here: Morrisville man accused of killing Hardwick woman pleads not guilty to murder charge.

A man who police said was assaulted and injured near City Hall Park in Burlington, allegedly by a group of teens a week ago, has died, interim Burlington Police Chief Shawn Burke confirmed Tuesday morning.

News of the man’s death had previously been reported on news sites and on social media. 

Burke said that he was still awaiting autopsy results determining the cause and manner of the man’s death. The chief declined to provide the man’s name or any other details surrounding the man’s death.

Officers on foot patrol around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 in City Hall Park in Burlington came upon an assault taking place involving several people on Church Street near the park, according to a press release issued last week by Burlington Police. 

“As the Officers approached, the group fled on foot and by bicycle,” the release stated. “Officers were able to chase and apprehend three juveniles who were involved in the assault.”

The juveniles were later issued citations to appear in Chittenden County Superior family court, the release stated. Juvenile court matters are heard behind closed doors. 

Because the matter involved juveniles, Burke said he could not provide additional information, including their ages. He also declined to discuss what may have prompted the incident. 

“That’s all germane to the investigation, and we have to preserve the integrity of that,” the police chief said. 

One of the teens arrested had a firearm, according to the release, and “further investigation revealed the firearm having been displayed during the assault of the victim.”  

The injured person, who police described as an adult man, was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment for serious injuries, the release stated.

The police chief said the investigation was continuing and that there may be additional arrests.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Man dies after assault last week near City Hall Park in Burlington.

Updated at 5:16 p.m.

Federal prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Teresa Youngblut, who was indicted Thursday for allegedly shooting and killing a Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont earlier this year.

The indictment containing the new charges was filed Thursday morning, while prosecutors filed notice stating they will be seeking the death penalty a few hours later.

In addition to a murder count, the charges in the latest indictment accuse the former Seattle, Washington, resident of the assault of two additional agents with a deadly weapon, and other firearms offenses.

“As alleged, this defendant shot and killed a United States Border Patrol Agent while he was

performing his duties,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal division. “We will not stand for such attacks on the men and women who protect our communities and our borders.”

Steven Barth, an attorney representing Youngblut, could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment. 

Youngblut, 21, had previously been charged with firearms and assault charges in connection with a Jan. 20 shootout stemming from a traffic stop on Interstate 91 in Coventry that resulted in the death of David “Chris” Maland, a Border Patrol agent. 

Youngblut, who was also wounded in the incident, was treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. After receiving treatment, Youngblut was arrested and has remained in custody since.

The notice to seek the death penalty filed by Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont Michael Drescher alleged that Youngblut “intentionally killed” Maland. 

Authorities leading the investigation into the shootout previously refused to confirm that Youngblut fired the shot that killed Maland.

However, the new indictment does include that allegation, stating that on Jan. 20, Youngblut, “with malice aforethought, unlawfully killed United States Border Patrol Agent D.C.M.” in violation of federal law “by shooting him while he was engaged in and on account of his performance of official duties.”    

During the traffic stop leading to the shootout, according to court documents, Youngblut came out of the vehicle and opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement at the scene. 

Maland was killed in the shootout, as was Felix Bauckholt, a German national who was a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving.

Authorities have alleged that the firearms Youngblut and Bauckholt had at the time of the traffic stop in Vermont had been purchased by Michelle Zajko, who had lived for a time in Coventry.

Zajko has since been charged with a federal offense in Vermont related to the purchases of firearms in Vermont. Zajko has not appeared in court in Vermont to face that charge. Zajko is currently jailed in Maryland awaiting trial on state trespassing, drug and firearms charges.

Youngblut and Bauckholt allegedly were connected to a group of people known as the “Zizians,” an offshoot of the so-called Rationalist movement in the San Francisco Bay Area. Members of that group have been linked to other homicides across the country, including in California and Pennsylvania.

Youngblut had applied for a license in November 2024 to marry Maximilian Snyder, another alleged Zizian member. Snyder, also formerly of Washington state, was arrested and charged days before the Vermont shooting in January in the stabbing death of a Vallejo landlord, Curtis Lind. Snyder has also been charged with capital crimes in California state court. 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had signaled early in February that federal capital charges were being considered by prosecutors in Youngblut’s case. 

Shortly after taking office, Bondi issued a directive lifting a moratorium on federal executions that had been in place during the Biden administration. Bondi also specifically cited in that directive the case involving the fatal shooting in Vermont of the border patrol agent.

“For the current charges, the maximum penalty is death, and Attorney General Pamela Bondi has authorized and directed the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont to pursue capital punishment in this case.,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Last month, Judge Christina Reiss, who is presiding over the case in federal court in Burlington, denied a request by Youngblut’s defense team to extend the deadline of July 28 for them to present information to a U.S. Department of Justice panel about why they believed the death penalty should not be pursued in the case.

Vermont does not have the death penalty, however, because the case was charged in federal court federal law applies. The last execution to be carried out in Vermont was in 1954. 

Donald Fell was sentenced to death in 2006 in federal court in Burlington after a jury returned a verdict a year earlier on charges of carjacking and murder. 

Fell’s conviction was later overturned due to juror misconduct and his case was resolved in 2018 with a plea deal that resulted in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Prosecutors file notice they will seek the death penalty against Teresa Youngblut in border agent killing.

A federal judge has denied a request by a Florida man convicted in the EB-5 scandal that played out in northern Vermont to shorten his time on court-ordered supervised release.

Judge Geoffrey Crawford issued a one-paragraph order Monday rejecting the request filed in June in U.S. District Court in Burlington by an attorney for William Kelly to end his three-year term of supervised release a year early.

Crawford wrote in the order that Kelly’s supervised release had been transferred in March 2024 to Florida, where Kelly, 76, resides. As a result, the judge added, Kelly could make a request to a federal court in Florida to change his period of supervised release. 

Robert Goldstein, an attorney for Kelly, declined comment Tuesday.

Kelly, who prosecutors termed the “consummate fixer” who tried to “outwit” regulators when they were investigating the scandal, was eventually indicted on criminal charges in 2019 along with two of his business partners. 

Those two men were Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak ski resort, and Bill Stenger, Jay Peak’s former president and CEO. 

All three were indicted on federal criminal charges and later reached plea deals in connection with their roles in a proposed $110 million biomedical research facility slated for Newport in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The project never got off the ground and was later termed “nearly a complete fraud” by regulators. 

The case left many foreign investors out of their investment and no way to meet the job-creating requirements to secure U.S. residency, or green cards, they were seeking through the EB-5 visa program.

All three men were later sentenced to prison, with Kelly receiving an 18-month term, which he has since served. He was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release, which requires regular check-in with authorities and certain travel restrictions.

Kelly was also required to make monthly payments on the $8.3 million in restitution included in his sentencing. 

The motion seeking an early end from supervised release stated Kelly “worked diligently to rebuild and contribute positively” to the community.  

“His family, church, and community have all been vital in his transformation, and he takes pride in trying to give back to his community in meaningful ways,” the filing stated.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Florida man who tried to ‘outwit’ regulators in EB-5 scandal loses bid to end supervised release early.

Vermont State Police have taken over from the Northfield Police Department the investigation into the death of a 68-year-old man, later ruled a suicide, that the man’s daughter believes was suspicious.

For the past several months, Alexandria Stanley has been pushing for a law enforcement agency outside of Northfield police to conduct an independent investigation into the death of her father, Pedro “Pete” Baez. 

She has disputed the findings by the police and the Vermont’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office that her father died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in November 2024 at his home in Northfield.

Stanley said Monday that she was heartened by the news that state police would be taking over the investigation. 

“I’m hugely thankful that this will be looked at anew,” Stanley said. “I’ve been asking for an unbiased, independent investigation into my father’s suspicious death since November.” 

A detective from the state police major crime unit has been assigned to conduct an external review of the Pedro Baez death investigation carried out by the Northfield Police Department, according to an email that State Police Detective Lt. Tyson Kinney wrote to attorney Christina Nolan, who represents Stanley, on Friday

On Monday afternoon, state police announced they had “assumed the lead role in investigating” Baez’s death. 

Detectives from the state police major crime unit will work with the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Northfield Police Department, “which initially was the primary investigative agency” on the case, according to a statement from state police. 

“Members of the state police will interview witnesses, gather facts and review evidence before presenting a complete investigative file to the state’s attorney for review,” the statement added. “The State’s Attorney’s Office will make a final determination on whether to file charges.”

State police did not respond to a question from VTDigger about what prompted its action. State police had previously declined attempts by Stanley seeking to have them take a lead role in the investigation.

“VSP is unable to comment further on this investigation while it is open and active,” the statement Monday from state police read.

Northfield Police Chief Pierre Gomez could not be reached Monday for comment. 

Michelle Donnelly, Washington County’s state’s attorney, said Monday that she would work with the state police as the investigation progresses.

The move by state police comes days after Peter Baez, 41, of Northfield, who is Stanley’s brother and Pedro Baez’s son, was arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Burlington on federal charges of possessing and stealing guns from his late father’s estate about a month after his father’s death.

Peter Baez pleaded not guilty to the two criminal charges and was released on conditions. 

At that hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Arra said that shortly before his death, Baez had removed his son from the will and made Stanley the beneficiary.

Attorney William A. Vasiliou II, representing Baez, said after the hearing that his client “had nothing to do with the death of his father.”

Vasiliou could not be reached for further comment Monday afternoon.

Nolan, Vermont’s former U.S. attorney who represents Stanley, had written an email in April to law enforcement officials, as well as state and local leaders, seeking further investigation into Pedro Baez’s death. Nolan cited several problems she saw in the probe that led to the suicide, including that no autopsy took place and that Northfield police relied heavily on information by Peter Baez, who was living with his father at that time.

Berlin police later conducted a review of Northfield Police Department’s death investigation. In a report in April obtained by VTDigger, the investigator from Berlin police stated there were issues that warranted further investigation.

The report found that there were “inadequate” photographs taken at the residence, particularly of the father’s deceased body. The recommendations for further investigation listed in the report included obtaining financial records from Pedro and Peter Baez, medical records for Pedro Baez, as well as contacting service providers to preserve any internet, social media and cellphone records of the parties.

The report also recommended that an interview be conducted with Pedro Baez’s neighbor about his mental state at the time leading up to his death.

Stanley said Monday that she looked forward to finding out what the state police probe reveals. 

“My father lived the last 40 years of his life in the town of Northfield,” she said. “He deserves the dignity of a competent police investigation.” 

Read the story on VTDigger here: State police take over death investigation from Northfield police amid questions over probe.

BURLINGTON — A Northfield man has denied federal criminal charges that allege he stole firearms from the estate of his dead father and sold them for money. 

As Peter Baez, 41, entered his not guilty plea Thursday in federal U.S. District Court in Burlington, his sister, Alexandria Stanley, sat about 20 feet away in the gallery and watched. 

Stanley has been pushing law enforcement since shortly after the November 2024 death of her father, 68-year-old Pedro “Pete” Baez, to more fully investigate the circumstances surrounding her father’s death, which was ruled a suicide.

Peter Baez was arrested Wednesday on the federal firearm charges for allegedly possessing and selling three stolen firearms and held in jail overnight pending the court hearing Thursday afternoon. 

An indictment on the charges had been returned by a grand jury against him last month, but was sealed pending Baez’s arrest. The filing was unsealed Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Arra told Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle during Thursday’s court hearing that, shortly before the death of Baez’s father, reportedly on Nov. 9, 2024, the father had removed his son from his will, making Stanley, his daughter, the beneficiary. 

Days following the death of his father, the prosecutor alleged, the son illegally took his father’s firearms that, at that point, were part of the estate and sold them at gunshops, keeping the money.

Doyle agreed Thursday to release Baez on conditions, including that he stay at least 300 feet from the property line of the Northfield home where he had lived with his father. The judge also ordered that Baez not contact his sister or the attorney now handling his late father’s estate. 

Attorney William A. Vasiliou II, representing Baez, told the judge his client did not object to those conditions. 

Stanley, who has been critical of the Northfield Police Department’s investigation into her father’s death, has disputed findings by police and the Vermont Medical Examiner’s Office that he had shot himself. 

She has called for a law enforcement agency other than the Northfield Police Department to further investigate the matter. She hired lawyer Christina Nolan, a former U.S. attorney for Vermont, to represent her. 

After Thursday’s hearing, Stanley said she was grateful for the actions of federal prosecutors in the case, saying, “It is federal authorities who are now moving forward looking at this with the resources and the integrity that a suspicious death investigation deserves.”

Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont Michael Drescher declined to comment Thursday when asked if his office was investigating the death of the father. 

Northfield Police Chief Pierre Gomez could not be reached Thursday for comment. 

Vasiliou, in response to journalist questions following Thursday’s hearing, said he wasn’t aware of an investigation into the death of his client’s father. Vasiliou said Baez, “had nothing to do with the death of his father.”

In an April email, Nolan wrote an email to many law enforcement officials and local and state leaders, including Vermont Chief Medical Examiner Elizabeth Bundock and Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark. In the email, Nolan argued that Stanley, her client, “has conducted as thorough an investigation into his death as any civilian could.” 

Stanely’s findings, Nolan wrote, demonstrate that her father’s death warranted further investigation. Nolan then listed off several problems with the investigation leading to the suicide finding, including that no autopsy was ever conducted.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Northfield man indicted on federal gun charges as strife persists over father’s death.

Vermont State Police have reached out to authorities in Arkansas about any possible connections between a double killing last month on a trail in that state and the homicide of a former university dean on a trail in Castleton nearly two years ago.

Andrew James McGann, 28, was taken into custody July 30 by police in Arkansas on capital murder charges stemming from two homicides that occurred July 26, at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas, according to Arkansas State Police. 

McGann allegedly fatally stabbed Clinton Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Brink, 41, Arkansas State Police said in a press release last week. The couple were hiking at the time of the attack with their two young daughters, 7 and 9, who were not injured, the release added.

At a press conference last week, Arkansas State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads said that McGann admitted to killing the couple after his arrest. She also said in response to a question from a reporter that she “fully” expected that “other jurisdictions will probably reach out to us to see if there are cases throughout the U.S. that may be connected to him.” 

Adam Silverman, a Vermont State Police spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon that Vermont State Police have contacted Arkansas authorities. 

“As part of our ongoing investigation into the homicide of Honoree Fleming, the Vermont State Police routinely follows up on all possible leads when they arise,” Silverman wrote in an email.

“After VSP learned of the homicides in Arkansas and the arrest of a suspect, VSP detectives contacted their counterparts in Arkansas to discuss the case,” Silverman added. “Because our investigation remains open and active, we will refrain from sharing additional information about our procedural steps.”

Cindy Murphy, communications director for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, stated in an email exchange Wednesday with VTDigger that she couldn’t comment on any specific questions related to connections, if any, between McGann and Fleming’s killing. 

“Because we have an open investigation, we can’t address that,” Murphy wrote. 

It’s not known what connections McGann might have to Vermont. He had been teaching in elementary schools in Oklahoma and Texas before accepting a job as a teacher in Arkansas earlier this year, according to an Associated Press article. The same article stated McGann had not yet started in that new job at Springdale Public Schools.

In a past teaching job in Texas, according to the Associated Press report, McGann was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 “following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,” according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District. He later resigned from that position, the Associated Press report stated. 

Fleming case remains unsolved

Fleming, 77, of Castleton, was found shot to death on the afternoon of Oct. 5, 2023, on the D & H rail trail in Castleton, about a mile from the university’s campus. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots around the time Fleming’s body was discovered by other passersby on the trail around 4:30 p.m., according to police at that time.

Police had also said that witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a backpack leaving the trail at its entrance on South Street, and heading north toward campus, around the time of the killing.

Police released a sketch of a “person of interest” about a week after Fleming’s death. The man, according to police, had been described by witnesses as white, red-haired, about 5-foot-10 and in his 20s. 

The Vermont Chief’s Medical Examiner Office determined that Fleming died from a gunshot wound to her head, and her death had been ruled a homicide. 

Before joining Castleton, Fleming was a faculty member at Trinity College in Burlington, Middlebury College and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, according to the university. She was married to Ron Powers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Following the attack on the couple in Arkansas, police there released a photo and sketch of a person of interest. Police described the wanted person as a white man of medium build, last seen wearing a long-sleeve shirt (with sleeves rolled up), dark pants, a dark baseball cap and sunglasses. The man, according to police, was carrying a black backpack and wearing fingerless gloves. 

A mugshot later released by police in Arkansas following his arrest shows McGann’s hair appears to be blond to reddish.

Police have released few details into their investigation of Fleming’s killing. A year after Fleming’s death, in October 2024, Maj. Dan Trudeau of the Vermont State Police told VTDigger, “The case has not progressed as quickly as we would have liked.”

Trudeau has since retired from the law enforcement agency. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Police contact Arkansas authorities in probe of 2023 killing of Honoree Fleming in Castleton.

BURLINGTON — A former U.S. Border Patrol agent has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material and faces up to 30 months in prison. 

Joshua Hartness, 45, of Colebrook, New Hampshire, entered his guilty plea to the felony charge Tuesday in federal court in Burlington. 

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to cap their prison sentence request at 30 months. His attorney will be permitted to argue for a lesser prison term. Hartness would also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.  

Judge Christina Reiss held off Tuesday on accepting the plea deal until after federal probation officers complete a presentence report. She set a sentencing hearing for Nov. 24. 

Reiss said she will decide whether the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal is appropriate after reading the presentence report. Should she determine that it isn’t, the judge told Hartness he could withdraw his guilty plea and the case could proceed to a trial or other resolution.

Hartness was arrested in December on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material between May 22, 2022, and Aug. 26, 2022. On Sept. 11, 2022, his cellphone was inspected at Logan International Airport in Boston as he was returning to the United States from abroad, according to court records. 

That inspection revealed potential child sexual abuse material leading to further investigation of his cellphone, court records stated. 

It is not clear from charging documents what prompted investigators to inspect his cellphone upon his arrival at the Boston airport. 

Hartness was arraigned in December and was released on conditions after pleading not guilty. At the time of his arrest, Hartness was working for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as a border agent in northern Vermont. He no longer works for the federal law enforcement agency.

In March, Hartness was back in court and ordered jailed for allegedly violating the conditions of release by trying to obtain firearms. 

Hartness attempted to get a “commemorative lever-action rifle,” a “fully operable” firearm designed to mark the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Border Patrol, according to court records.

Hartness was returned to the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans on Tuesday following his court hearing.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Ex-border patrol agent reaches plea deal on child sexual abuse material charge.

Updated at 6:08 p.m.

Max Misch, who made headlines several years ago for his racial harassment of a former Bennington representative has been arrested on several charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault and aggravated domestic assault. 

Misch, 42, took part in a hearing Monday afternoon in Rutland County Superior Court’s criminal division by video from the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, where he has been held since his arrest Friday. 

Zanna Bliss, his attorney, entered not guilty pleas on Misch’s behalf.

The charges stem from an incident on Friday during which Misch allegedly struck a woman on her face, according to a police affidavit. Later, the woman told police Misch had sexually assaulted her and prevented her from reporting abuse.

Judge Cortland Corsones granted a request from the prosecutor to continue holding Misch in custody without bail pending another hearing to determine the strength of the case. That hearing date has not yet been set. 

Bliss tried unsuccessfully to have her client be released on conditions, telling the judge that Misch had significant ties to Bennington County and was not a flight risk.  

Misch was arrested Friday evening stemming from an incident on Pleasant Street in Bennington, according to Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette. 

In addition to the kidnapping, sexual assault and aggravated domestic assault offenses, Misch also faces charges of unlawful restraint and interference with access to emergency services, according to court records.

If convicted of the kidnapping charge alone, Misch faces up to life in prison. 

Bennington Police Cpl. James Macaulay wrote in an affidavit in support of the charges that police responded to a reported fight between two women on the roadway Pleasant Street at around 6:45 p.m. Friday.

While at the scene investigating the fight, according to the affidavit, police saw Misch there with an injury to his hand.

One of the women, who was taken to a police cruiser, reported she was with Misch earlier in the day and he had gotten angry about a late food order from a restaurant. As they drove to a laundromat, the affidavit stated, he struck her on her face.

The woman said she was driving and Misch was in the passenger seat at the time, according to the affidavit. Police reported finding a red mark on the woman’s face and an injury to the knuckle of Misch’s right hand. 

The woman also said that she had tried to report past incidents of abuse by Misch against her but that he locked her in the apartment to prevent her from talking to police, the affidavit stated.

The charges against Misch stated that his alleged criminal actions spanned from July 1 to Aug. 1.

VTDigger does not name alleged victims of sexual assault without their consent.

Misch has been arrested in the past on charges including aggravated domestic assault, a charge of disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancement and repeated violations of his conditions of release. Later plea deals eventually led to probationary sentences allowing him to avoid jail.

Misch is currently set to be sentenced in a separate case on Aug. 11 in Bennington County for two misdemeanor convictions related to the illegal possession of high-capacity firearm magazines. A jury convicted him of those two charges in April following a trial.

Each charge carries a potential maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $500 fine.

Misch was a central figure in the racial harassment that led Kiah Morris, a former House representative from Bennington, to not run for office again. Morris, who had been the only Black woman lawmaker in the Legislature, announced in summer 2018 she would not be running for reelection, citing, in part, the online attacks. 

Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, who was in office at that time, investigated the Morris matter, but decided against filing criminal charges against Misch, who admitted to racially harassing Morris. Donovan cited the broad protections of the First Amendment in explaining his decision not to bring charges against Misch.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Max Misch arrested in Bennington on kidnapping and assault charges .

Gov. Phil Scott has denied a request from the Trump administration for a dozen members of the Vermont National Guard to assist U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The request from the federal government was made to several states, including Vermont, for National Guard personnel to provide support to ICE, according to the Vermont National Guard and a press release issued last week by the defense department.

The Vermont National Guard forwarded the request to Scott, who turned it down, according to Joseph Brooks, a Vermont National Guard public affairs officer.  

Vermont Public reported on the matter Wednesday. 

Scott, speaking with reporters Thursday, confirmed he had rejected the request and provided additional details behind his decision.

In this case, the Republican governor said, the request from the administration of Republican President Donald Trump came under a provision of the law that allowed him to approve or reject it.

“There were 12 clerical positions that were being requested for the emergency, the executive order that he had for the southern border,” Scott said. 

The governor said he didn’t support having 12 Vermont National Guard members assigned for a year to do clerical work, particularly when those positions could be filled in other ways. 

“I think about the thousands of federal workers furloughed, some fired, some just left on their own, but there’s literally tens of thousands of federal employees that would be available for this type of work,” Scott said. 

Had the request dealt with guard members needed for dealing with counterterrorism, “maybe cyber work,” or drug interdiction, the governor said, his response may have been different. 

“This one didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, especially because it appears they’re referencing an executive order for the southern border and its clerical positions,” Scott said.

The clerical positions, the governor said, would have been located at federal offices in St. Albans, which is home to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office. 

Scott said he rejected the request Wednesday. “I haven’t heard anything back,” he said Thursday. 

Brooks said Thursday that because the request was made under a provision known as Title 32, it was up to the governor to decide how to respond. 

“The governor has the say whether or not we do that mission,” Brooks said.

Since Trump assumed office in January, there have been several protests and demonstrations in Vermont in response to ICE’s ramped-up immigration enforcement actions, marking a shift from Biden administration policies. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘Didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me’: Vermont governor rejects bid for Guard members to help ICE.

Updated at 5:32 p.m.

Vermont State Police said they are no longer investigating an untimely death in Brandon as suspicious. 

Police said late Monday afternoon following an autopsy at the Vermont Chief’s Examiner’s Office in Burlington that the cause and manner of the 53-year-old woman’s death remains pending but that “her death does not appear to be suspicious at this time.”

Earlier Monday before the autopsy, state police issued a press release terming the woman’s death “suspicious.” 

Police did not provide any more information about what prompted their change. 

“There will be no further updates regarding this investigation,” Detective Lt. Tyson Kinney of the Vermont State Police wrote in an emailed press release Monday afternoon following the autopsy. 

The investigation began after police said they received a call at around 8:15 p.m. Sunday from a Carver Street resident, who said a person at the house had died. “First responders arrived and confirmed the individual was deceased,” the earlier police press release stated.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont State Police: Death of a Brandon woman no longer considered suspicious .

A federal judge has denied a bid by attorneys for Teresa Youngblut for more time to convince prosecutors not to file charges that carry the death penalty against their client. Youngblut is currently being held on other charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in northern Vermont. 

Judge Christina Reiss’s ruling, made public Monday afternoon, was soon met by a filing by Youngblut’s defense team seeking reconsideration of that decision. The judge had not yet issued a decision whether she would grant that reconsideration as of 5:30 p.m. Monday. 

The flurry of filings in the case Monday comes about a week before the July 28 deadline set by prosecutors for Youngblut’s attorneys to present mitigating evidence to a U.S. Department of Justice panel who will recommend whether capital crimes should be brought in the case. 

Reiss, who is presiding in Youngblut’s case in U.S. District Court in Burlington, wrote in her two-page decision that she was denying the defense’s bid for an extension of the deadline to Jan. 30, 2026.

The judge wrote that “because both the process and the ultimate charging decision are the sole prerogative of the Executive Branch, the court lacks the authority to grant Defendant’s motion.”

That argument regarding the separation of powers between the judiciary and executive branches of government was made last week by federal prosecutors in a filing urging Reiss to reject the extension request from Youngblut’s attorneys.

However, in her ruling, the judge cautioned that the prosecution not granting the defense a deadline extension could risk their case down the road.

Reiss wrote she was concerned that if the government “needlessly expedites a Capital Case determination,” it could “inadvertently create an issue of ineffective assistance of counsel and give rise to concerns regarding the fair administration of justice in the context of a crucial decision.”

Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, has been charged with federal firearms and assault offenses in connection with the shootout on Interstate 91 in Coventry on the afternoon of Jan. 20 that killed U.S Border Patrol Agent David Maland. 

Maland, according to court filings, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle Youngblut had been driving. 

Youngblut was also hurt in the shootout and received treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Youngblut has been held in custody since being released from the hospital a few days after the shooting. 

During the traffic stop, charging documents stated, Youngblut got out of the vehicle and opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement at the scene. In addition to Maland, Felix Bauckholt, a German national who was a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving, also died in the shootout. 

Federal authorities heading the probe in the case have refused to confirm who fired the fatal shot that killed Maland. 

In a filing, Youngblut’s attorneys had contended that the prosecution’s July 28 deadline did not provide them with enough time.

Youngblut’s defense team wrote the “unprecedentedly tight timeline is even more untenable” because Youngblut’s defense team only recently secured an attorney who specializes in cases that could involve the death penalty.

“(I)rregularities aside, the government’s schedule promises to turn Ms. Youngblut’s submission into a near-pointless formality,” the lawyers added in the filings.

Youngblut’s attorneys also requested a hearing on the matter. However, Reiss ruled without holding a hearing.

“Defendant’s motion to extend the deadline by which defense counsel may present mitigating and other evidence to the Attorney General’s Capital Case Review Committee is DENIED,” the judge wrote in the final sentence of her decision.

Later Monday, Youngblut’s defense team submitted a 16-page motion asking Reiss to reconsider her ruling,  arguing that they don’t see their request as violating the separation of powers principle among branches of government.

“Youngblut simply asks the Court to direct the government to briefly pause its decision-making process so prosecutors can meaningfully consider mitigating evidence before making the seek/no-seek decision,” the defense attorneys wrote. 

“Even if the Court grants that relief,” the defense attorneys added, “the government will ultimately be entirely free to file death-eligible charges and to seek the death penalty against Youngblut.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had signaled early in the case that federal death penalty charges were being weighed by prosecutors. 

Bondi issued a directive shortly after taking office at the beginning of this year lifting a moratorium on federal executions that had been in place during the Biden administration, particularly in cases involving the death of a law enforcement official. 

In that directive, Bondi also specifically cited the case involving the fatal shooting in Vermont of the border patrol agent.

“But that memorandum also provides that the DOJ policy of seeking death in cases ‘involving the murder of a law-enforcement officer’ shall not apply if ‘significant mitigating circumstances’” exist, Youngblut’s attorneys wrote in their motion for reconsideration.

“That proviso would be meaningless if the government did not provide Youngblut (and other potential capital defendants) with a genuine opportunity to demonstrate that their cases involve ‘significant mitigating circumstances,’” the defense added. 

Youngblut and Bauckholt allegedly were linked to a group of people known as the “Zizians,” an offshoot of the so-called Rationalist movement in the San Francisco Bay Area. Group members have been tied to several other homicides across the country, including in California and Pennsylvania.

Steven Barth, an attorney representing Youngblut, declined to comment on Reiss’ ruling Monday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, through a spokesperson, also declined to comment.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge denies defense’s bid for delay as prosecutors weigh death penalty in border agent’s killing.

The Vermont Supreme Court issued its ruling earlier this month on a legal dispute between Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer and Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, with the two sides viewing the decision in different ways.

Hoffer, a Democrat/Progressive, brought a lawsuit against Clark, a Democrat, and her office more than a year ago. 

The dispute centered on a bid by Hoffer to get answers from the Vermont’s Attorney General’s Office to questions that his office posed when conducting an audit related to a tax-increment financing project in Burlington.

The attorney general responded to the questions by referring Hoffer to other entities for answers.

Clark hailed the unanimous high court ruling as victory for the attorney general’s office, while Hoffer saw it another way.

“We are pleased with the decision. This is the outcome we predicted when we were first threatened by a lawsuit from the auditor, so no surprise in that respect,” Clark said Thursday. “The Supreme Court found we had done our job and we won the case.” 

When the lawsuit was filed more than a year ago, Clark called it “ill advised” and “unfortunate.” 

Hoffer on Thursday referred to the ruling in different terms.

“The ruling by the court was a split decision,” he said, highlighting a part of the ruling that affirmed his right to bring the lawsuit. That’s important, Hoffer said, in ensuring that there is a checks and balance system in place. 

“From the very beginning,” Hoffer added, “the attorney general claimed we didn’t even have the authority to sue her.” 

Hoffer argued in the lawsuit that the attorney general’s office did not provide him with legal opinions he had asked for regarding an audit he was conducting related to a Burlington tax increment financing development, also known as a TIF.

The Vermont attorney general’s office, in court filings, contended that they did respond to the auditor’s request by referring him to other entities responsible for implementing TIF law. 

As part of his legal action, the auditor said he wanted the justices to rule that he had a right to bring the lawsuit against the attorney general’s office, In addition, the auditor wanted the Vermont Supreme Court to compel the attorney general’s office to answer specific questions that were posed. 

The high court in its ruling last week decided that Hoffer had the right to bring a lawsuit against the Vermont attorney general’s office, but he lost on the matter of the specific questions.

Justice Nancy Waples, who authored the 30-page opinion, noted in the opening line how rare this type of case was for the high court.

“This appeal calls us to settle an unusual dispute between Vermont’s Auditor of Accounts and Attorney General, two statewide elected officials,” Waples wrote. 

“The Auditor sued the Attorney General, alleging that she has failed to comply with her statutory obligation to provide legal advice,” the justice added. “The Auditor seeks a declaratory judgment that he has the right to retain counsel to sue the Attorney General and that the Attorney General must advise the Auditor on questions of law pursuant to statute.”

And, according to Waples, the auditor was seeking a court order compelling the attorney general to answer two specific questions. 

Washington County Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi dismissed the auditor’s claims at the trial court level leading to the appeal before the Vermont Supreme Court. 

Waples, in the high court’s ruling, wrote, “We affirm in part and reverse in part.” 

Vermont Law and Graduate School Professor Peter Teachout, who specializes in constitutional law, said Thursday the high court determined that the attorney general was required to give legal advice. 

“But not required to provide legal answers,” Teachout added. “In this case, in fact, the Attorney General has complied with the statute because with these two questions to which it has not provided definitive answers it has provided the auditor with legal advice, and the advice is see how these other institutions interpret these terms.”

Teachout added that he believed that Clark and Hoffer each had merits in their views of the high court’s decision.

“I think they both are right,” Teachout said. “The attorney general prevails in this specific case because the attorney general is not required to do what the auditor was asking the court to compel the attorney general to do, which is to provide answers to the two questions that it didn’t provide answers to.” 

On the other hand, Teachout said, “the attorney general’s office did not prevail on the question of whether the attorney general can ever be compelled by a court to perform legal duties.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘We won’ versus ‘split decision’: State auditor and Vermont attorney general view high court ruling differently .

Prosecutors are calling on a federal judge to reject a request from attorneys of Teresa Youngblut to delay their decision-making process as they consider whether to bring charges that carry the death penalty in the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont. 

Youngblut’s attorney submitted a filing last month in federal court in Burlington seeking additional time from a deadline of this later this month to offer mitigating evidence on their client’s behalf. 

Prosecutors responded in a 17-page filing this week that Judge Christina Reiss should not grant Youngblut’s defense team an extension from the July 28 deadline the prosecution had set.

Granting the defense’s request, the prosecutors wrote, would “violate the separation of power” principles and “infringe on the Executive Branch’s exclusive prosecutorial discretion in deciding whether (to) charge a death eligible offense or to seek the death penalty in this case.”

The government process to determine whether to seek the death penalty “is an internal process in which the defendant has no cognizable right to participate beyond the Executive Branch’s invitation,” the prosecutors added.

Reiss has yet to rule on the matter as of Wednesday afternoon.

Youngblut, 21, of Washington, who was also hurt in the Jan. 20 shootout in northern Vermont, has been held in custody since receiving treatment for injuries at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Youngblut has already been charged with federal firearms and assault offenses stemming from the shootout on Interstate 91 in Coventry that killed U.S Border Patrol Agent David Maland. According to court filings, Maland conducted a traffic stop that afternoon on a vehicle Youngblut had been driving.

During that traffic stop, according to charging documents, Youngblut came out of the vehicle and opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement at the scene. 

Maland was killed in the shootout, as was Felix Bauckholt, a German national who was a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving. 

Youngblut has not been specifically charged with firing the shot that killed Maland. Federal authorities leading the investigation into the fatal shooting have refused to confirm who fired the fatal shot that killed Maland. 

Prosecutors in their latest filing this week provided a similar summary of the shootout as they have in past court submissions, and again did not directly state that Youngblut fired the fatal shot. Instead, prosecutors wrote, as they have in the past, that he was killed in an “exchange of gunfire.” 

Youngblut and Bauckholt allegedly had ties to a group of people known as the “Zizians.” Members of the group have been connected to several other homicides across the country, including in California and Pennsylvania.

Youngblut’s defense team has argued that a meeting called for by the prosecution for them to meet with the U.S Attorney General’s Capital Case Review Committee was too soon. They asked that the meeting be pushed back until at least January 2026. 

That committee screens cases and makes recommendations to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office on whether to seek charges that carry the death penalty. 

Prosecutors cited in their response the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that left three people dead and hundreds injured.

In that case, prosecutors wrote, attorneys for Tsarnaev asked for additional time to submit mitigating evidence ahead of a death penalty decision.

“In denying the defendant’s request” in that case, the prosecutors wrote, “the court recognized that the death penalty protocol’s inclusion of an opportunity for the defendant to submit information and materials for consideration in the Department’s internal deliberations was ‘prudent policy, but is not required by any constitutional, statutory, or decisional rule of law.’”

Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont who are handling the case, through a spokesperson, declined comment on the latest filing Wednesday. 

Steven Barth, an attorney for Youngblut, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Prosecutors urge judge to deny bid to delay death penalty decision in fatal shooting of border agent.

The court-appointed receiver who has worked to help Jay Peak Resort and Burke Mountain Resort emerge from a financial scandal has been granted his request for more than $1 million to help cover his latest costs and expenses for himself and others helping him.

With a judge’s approval Monday, Michael Goldberg’s total bill for his receivership that began in April 2016 has surpassed $13 million.

Goldberg’s latest filing submitted earlier this month covered the receivership from June 1, 2024, through April 30 of this year. For that 11 month period, Goldberg said the receivership amassed $1,185,240 in costs and expenses.

“During the Reporting and Application Period,” Goldberg wrote in the 262-page filing, “the Receiver and his team of professionals made significant progress towards winding down the Receivership and maximizing the value of the estate’s remaining assets for the benefit of defrauded Jay Peak and Burke investors.”

The two resorts were put in receivership in April 2016 after federal and state regulators brought civil enforcement actions against Ariel Quiros, the owner of both resorts, and Bill Stenger, who was Jay Peak’s CEO and president.

Officials alleged in the legal actions the two men misused more than $200 million of the more than $350 million raised from foreign investors through the federal EB-5 visa program. The program allows foreign investors to obtain green cards, or permanent U.S. residency, in exchange for financial investments in qualified development projects.   

Quiros and Stenger were later indicted in May 2019 on criminal charges connected to a separate EB-5-financed planned project they headed in the Northeast Kingdom to build a $110 million biomedical research facility, which regulators later called “nearly a complete fraud.”

The two men eventually reached plea deals with prosecutors, sending both of them to prison. Stenger has since been released, and Quiros remains in custody in a federal facility in Florida. 

Goldberg, in his filing this month, wrote that a great deal of his work focused on the sale of Burke Mountain Resort earlier this year for $11.5 million to Bear Den Partners LLC, a group of people with longtime ties to the ski area. 

The sale of Burke Mountain Resort followed the sale of Jay Peak Resort in 2022 to Pacific Group Resorts Inc., based in Park City, Utah, for $76 million.

Goldberg wrote in his filing that the resort was still working to sell “one off” properties in Vermont that are part of the receivership, which he “hopes to accomplish in the next six months.” Those remaining properties, including undeveloped land, were turned over to the receivership as part of a $84 million settlement Quiros reached with regulators to resolve civil enforcement actions against him.   

Federal Judge Darrin P. Gayles, who has presided in U.S. District Court in Miami over the receivership since it began in April 2016, approved Goldberg’s request Monday. The case was brought in federal court in Florida because that was where Quiros was living at the time the civil enforcement actions were brought against him.

As a result of Gayles’ approval of Goldberg’s latest fee request, the receivership’s legal and financial costs and expenses totals a little more than $13.5 million since it was established in 2016.

Money to pay those bills has come from revenue generated from the sale of the properties as well as financial settlements reached with several entities over the years for their roles in the financial scandal.

Goldberg could not be reached Monday for comment.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge OKs another $1 million-plus in fees for Vermont EB-5 fraud cleanup, bringing total to over $13 million.

An autopsy determined that the woman who was found dead this week at her home in Pittsford died from a “gunshot wound of head and neck,” according to Vermont State Police.

However, the manner of 41-year-old Erica Bovey’s death remains “pending,” according to a Thursday press release from state police. 

An earlier state police press release from Wednesday termed the death as “suspicious.” 

Police began their investigation into Bovey’s death around 2:10 a.m. Wednesday after authorities received a call from a resident at a home on Hollister Quarry Road in Pittsford reporting that a person there had died. 

First responders who arrived at the scene confirmed that the person, later identified as Bovey, who also lived at the home, was deceased, according to police. 

Asked why the manner of Bovey’s death was listed as pending, police spokesperson Adam Silverman replied in an email Friday, “cause and manner of death are determinations of the medical examiner’s office.”

Silverman added, “VSP’s investigation remains active and ongoing at this time while we await further information from the medical examiner.”

No one was in custody related to the investigation as of Friday afternoon, Silverman said.

Kyle Casteel, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Health, the state department in which the Vermont’s Chief Medical Examiner’s is located, declined to comment specifically on Bovey’s case and why the manner of death was still listed as pending. 

“I can share that in general, it takes time to establish the manner of death in an investigation, and the record will be updated when the facts are confirmed,” Casteel said in an email.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Police identify woman who died from a gunshot wound in Pittsford.

A state trooper shot and killed a man Monday in Putney after reportedly seeing what he believed was a firearm in the man’s hand and after the man ignored police commands, according to the Vermont State Police. 

A later search of the man’s apartment, police said Tuesday, turned up no firearms. 

Scott Garvey, 55, who lived in the apartment at Putney Landing where the shooting occurred, died from gunshot wounds to his torso and left lower extremity, according to a state police press release Tuesday evening. 

Trooper Peter Romeo, who fired on Garvey, has been placed on paid relief-from-duty status, which is standard state police protocol following a shooting. 

Romeo works out of the state police barracks in Westminster, where he has been assigned since his graduation from the Vermont Police Academy in January 2023, according to the press release.   

Events leading to the shooting began around 11:20 p.m. Sunday, when police received a call from a person at the apartment reporting a “mental health concern,” the release stated. 

A mental health caseworker embedded with the state police “dealt with the concern over the phone, and troopers did not respond to the scene,” according to the release. 

At about 7:15 a.m. Monday, the release stated, police got another call coming from the apartment, followed at 11:15 a.m. by a report from another Putney Landing resident that Garvey was outside “exhibiting concerning behavior and making threatening” comments. 

Troopers went to the apartment along with the mental health caseworker. 

“Mr. Garvey returned to his apartment and barricaded himself inside while continuing to make threatening statements, including of self-harm,” the release stated. 

The caseworker and troopers tried to talk with Garvey to resolve the situation to no avail. The troopers then got a warrant to enter the apartment to charge him with criminal threatening and disorderly conduct, the release stated. 

“Upon entering the apartment at about 4:30 p.m., troopers encountered Mr. Garvey and reported that they saw an object in his hands that they believed to be a firearm,” according to the release. “Mr. Garvey did not respond to commands given by the troopers. Trooper Romeo fired his service weapon.”

State police did not say how many shots were fired. Garvey was pronounced dead at the scene. After the shooting, the release stated, a search of the apartment found no firearms inside. 

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office and Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office will be conducting independent reviews of Romeo’s use of force. 

The Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, owner and operator of the Putney Landing apartment complex, posted a statement Tuesday on Facebook.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that took place yesterday at Putney Landing during an encounter between Vermont State Police and a resident experiencing a severe mental health crisis,” the post stated.

Despite “efforts to de-escalate and bring the situation to a peaceful resolution, the confrontation ended in the loss of a life — a heartbreaking outcome for everyone involved,” the posting added.

The post did not name the resident who died, but he was later identified Tuesday evening by state police as Garvey.

“Our shared responsibility is to care for one another and to build a stronger, more compassionate response to those in crisis — one that upholds the dignity and value of every person,” the post later noted. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont State Police trooper shoots and kills man in Putney reportedly amid threats .

BURLINGTON — A Hyde Park man accused of helping conceal the fatal shooting of two Massachusetts men in northern Vermont where their alleged killer faces a possible death sentence has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. 

Dilan Jiron, 29, entered guilty pleas Monday to two federal charges: conspiracy to possess a firearm in a drug trafficking crime and helping Theodore Bland, 30, formerly of Stowe, to cover up the fatal shootings. 

As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, Jiron faces up to 23 years in prison on the two charges. 

A sentencing date has been set for Oct. 20.  

In U.S. District Court in Burlington on Monday, Jiron told Judge William K. Sessions III that he understood that by pleading guilty to the two charges he was giving up his right to a trial.

Bland and Jiron have both been charged in connection with the deaths of Jahim Solomon, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Eric White, of Chicopee, Massachusetts.

On Oct. 25, 2023, Vermont State Police officers found the bodies of Solomon and White, both 21, in a wooded area of Eden, about a mile apart from each other, and reported that the men had been fatally shot. 

The families of two Massachusetts men had notified authorities days earlier the two men had disappeared while in Vermont, according to police. 

Court records stated that the killings occurred on Oct. 12, 2023, when Bland allegedly shot  Solomon and White in Vermont in a drug-dealing dispute. 

Bland “induced” others to help him move the bodies of White and Solomon to the wooded area in Eden, where they were later found by police, according to the court filings. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont announced in February that it was bringing charges against Bland that carry the possibility of the death penalty. Those charges included one for using and carrying “a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime causing the deaths of Jahim Solomon and Eric White in circumstances that constitute murder under federal law.”

However, the office has not filed a motion confirming it will seek the death penalty for Bland, should he be convicted. 

Jiron’s plea agreement filed last week stated he admitted to assisting “Theodore Bland in transporting the body of Jahim Solomon to a wooded area and attempted to hide it from detection of investigating authorities.” 

The plea agreement stated that, Jiron provided false information to authorities investigating the double homicide. 

Bland and Jiron remain incarcerated without bail as the cases against them proceed.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Hyde Park man pleads guilty to charges of covering up a double homicide in Vermont.

The estate of a Black man who died in a Vermont prison more than five years ago has agreed to accept $1.5 million to resolve a lawsuit brought against the state’s former medical provider alleging that racism, medical malpractice and negligence led to the man’s death.

Details of the proposed resolution were included in recent court filings in the case in U.S. District Court in Burlington arising from the December 2019 death of 60-year-old Kenneth Johnson at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport.

A court filing by attorneys in the case, titled a “Stipulated Order of Judgment,” still needs the approval of Judge Christina Reiss, who has presided over the case. 

The filing seeking the order of judgment to resolve the claims differs from a straight out settlement. 

“It’s a judgment, and that’s an important distinction,” said James Valente, an attorney representing Johnson’s estate. 

Confidentiality provisions are often part of settlements resolving litigation between private parties. A judgment, on the other hand, is a matter of public record.

“Our client had reservations about a settlement that would include a confidentiality provision,” Valente said Thursday. Olynthea Johnson, Kenneth Johnson’s sister, is the administrator of his estate. 

Shap Smith, an attorney for Centurion Health, the state’s contracted medical provider for prisons at the time of Johnson’s death, declined to comment Thursday. 

The lawsuit filed in December 2021 alleged that Johnson died in the prison infirmary after workers for Virginia-based Centurion Health failed to diagnose and treat a tumor that led to Johnson’s death by asphyxiation. 

The wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit also alleged Centurion Health discriminated against Johnson, a Black man, due to his race. 

According to the suit, Johnson endured “extreme pain and suffering” and “extreme psychological distress” in the hours before he died. The suit accuses guards and medical staff of ignoring his pleas for medical help.

Initial reports from the Vermont Department of Corrections at the time said  it appeared Johnson died from natural causes. A person who was incarcerated with Johnson told Seven Days a week after Johnson’s death that he had been having difficulty breathing and begging for medical care before he died. 

Later, investigations, including the one by the Vermont Defender’s General’s Office, blasted the corrections department and Centurion medical staff over the care provided to Johnson. 

A court filing by Centurion’s attorneys stated that the health care provider has made an offer of $1.5 million to the estate. “This offer of judgment includes all amounts that might be recovered by the estate for any damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and pre-judgment interest,” the filing said. 

The offer of judgment, the filing added, was “not to be construed as an admission of liability by any defendants, or any official, employee or agent of Centurion of Vermont.”

In a separate court filing this week, the estate accepted the offer. As of Thursday afternoon, the judge had yet to sign off on the proposed order of judgment, according to court filings.

Valente, speaking Thursday afternoon, said he believed that the judge would sign off on the order. If the judge does so, the lawsuit would be resolved. 

Johnson’s estate had previously reached a settlement with the Vermont Department of Corrections, which had also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, for $150,000, according to Valente and a corrections department spokesperson.  

That $150,000 payment is in addition to the $1.5 million the estate would receive from Centurion. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Former prison medical provider to pay $1.5 million to estate of Black man who died in custody.

Updated 5:49 p.m.

Attorneys for Teresa Youngblut want more time to present information as they try to convince federal prosecutors not to file charges that carry the death penalty against their client in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent earlier this year in Vermont.

“This Court should step in to ensure Ms. Youngblut receives a meaningful opportunity to persuade the government not to pursue the death penalty,” Steven Barth and Julie Stelzig, lawyers for Youngblut, wrote in a Monday night filing in federal court in Burlington. 

The attorneys wrote in the 21-page filing that the current deadline, later this month, to submit mitigating evidence against seeking the death penalty eligible charges in the case should be extended to “at least” Jan. 30, 2026.

The lawyers also asked for a hearing on the request. Judge Christina Reiss, who is presiding in the case, has not yet issued a ruling.

Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, is currently facing firearms and assault charges in connection with the Jan. 20 shootout on Interstate 91 in Coventry that killed David Maland, a U.S. border patrol agent who conducted a traffic stop that afternoon on a vehicle Youngblut had been driving. 

At some point during that traffic stop, according to charging documents, Youngblut got out of the vehicle and began shooting. An exchange of gunfire occurred with law enforcement on the scene. Maland was killed in the shootout as was Felix Bauckholt, a German national who was a passenger in the vehicle Youngblut was driving. 

Youngblut has not been charged directly with firing the shot that killed Maland. The FBI, which is leading the investigation into his fatal shooting, has refused to confirm who fired that fatal shot. 

Youngblut, who was also hurt in the shootout, has been held in custody since receiving treatment for injuries in a hospital.

Barth, one of Youngblut’s attorneys, said at a hearing in the case last week that he expected federal prosecutors to file charges against his client in “short order” that carry the possibility of the death penalty. 

He declined further comment to reporters following the hearing. 

However, in the filing Monday night, Youngblut’s legal team provided more information about what has been taking place outside of the public eye in the case.

On June 2, federal prosecutors informed Youngblut’s defense team that “they should be prepared to meet with the U.S Attorney General’s Capital Case Review Committee” on July 28, the lawyers wrote in the filing.

That committee screens cases for the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and determines whether to seek charges that carry the death penalty. 

Attorneys referenced an internal guidebook for the department, which says a meeting with the committee is intended to let the defense present evidence that the government would consider when deciding whether to seek the death penalty against someone charged with “potentially capital crimes.”

The lawyers wrote that the July 28 deadline does not provide Youngblut’s defense team with enough time.

Attorneys said the “unprecedentedly tight timeline is even more untenable” because Youngblut’s defense team only recently secured an attorney who specializes in cases that could involve the death penalty.

“And,” the lawyers added, “irregularities aside, the government’s schedule promises to turn Ms. Youngblut’s submission into a near-pointless formality.”

Youngblut and Bauckholt allegedly had ties to a loosely linked group of people known as the “Zizians.” Members of the group, an offshoot of the so-called Rationalist movement in the San Francisco Bay Area, have been tied to several other homicides across the country, including in California and Pennsylvania.

Neither Barth nor the U.S Attorney’s Office for Vermont, which is prosecuting Youngblut’s case, could be reached Tuesday for comment.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had signaled early in the case that federal death penalty charges were being considered. 

Bondi issued a directive shortly after taking office at the beginning of this year lifting a moratorium on federal executions that had been in place during the Biden administration. Bondi specifically cited in that directive the case involving the fatal shooting in Vermont of the border patrol agent. 

Youngblut’s attorneys wrote in the filing Monday night that finding counsel to handle a potential death penalty case hasn’t been easy, in part, due to that directive. 

“Each learned counsel can work on only a limited number of cases, and since January of this year the number of potentially capital cases in federal court has increased substantially,” Youngblut’s lawyers wrote. “The result is that fewer learned counsel are available to join federal capital teams than they would be otherwise.”

The filing also stated that Bondi has made clear that unless there are “significant mitigating circumstances,” the government will seek death against defendants, such as Youngblut, who are charged in cases involving the death of law enforcement officers.

As a result, the lawyers wrote, presenting compelling mitigating information “represents Ms. Youngblut’s best, and perhaps only, opportunity to convince the government to seek a non-death sentence.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Defense seeks more time to convince prosecutors not to seek death penalty against client in Border Patrol killing.

A Florida man who served his prison sentence handed down more than three years ago for his role in the EB-5 fraud that rocked Vermont is now seeking to shorten the length of his court-ordered supervised release.

An attorney for William Kelly filed a motion this week in federal court in Burlington asking Judge Geoffrey Crawford to end Kelly’s three years of supervised release a year earlier. 

“Mr. Kelly has used this experience to become a more responsible and accountable person,” Robert Goldstein, Kelly’s lawyer, wrote in a court filing. “He has demonstrated the stability and commitment to live a law-abiding life and would be grateful for the opportunity to continue doing so without the restrictions of supervised release.”

Neither Goldstein nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, which prosecuted the case, could be reached Friday for comment. 

Crawford sentenced Kelly in April 2022 to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and concealment of material information.

The judge also ordered Kelly to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. The terms of Kelly’s supervised release include regular check-ins with his probation officer and travel restrictions.

Kelly, according to court records, was a key adviser to Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak ski resort, and an “assistant in executing decisions” who later took the lead in developing what regulators have termed a “Ponzi-like” scheme.

Kelly was indicted by a federal grand jury in Vermont in May 2019 along with Quiros and Bill Stenger, Jay Peak’s former president and CEO, for his role in a failed biomedical research facility planned for Newport.

More than 160 foreign investors seeking green cards in exchange for their investments each put at least $500,000 into the proposed $110 million facility known as AnC Bio Vermont.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later termed the project “nearly a complete fraud,” leaving the investors out of their investment and no way to meet the job creating requirements to secure their U.S. residency through the EB-5 visa program.

Prosecutors termed Kelly the “consummate fixer” who worked at trying to “outwit” regulators.

Stenger was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the case and has since been released. Quiros was sentenced to a five-year prison term that he continues to serve. 

Kelly, according to his attorney’s recent filing, in addition to serving out his prison sentence has roughly one year remaining of his three years of supervised release. 

Kelly, now 76, suffers from several medical conditions, including chronic diabetes and heart disease, the filing stated. 

“Since returning to the community, Mr. Kelly has worked diligently to rebuild and contribute positively,” his attorney wrote in the motion. “His family, church, and community have all been vital in his transformation, and he takes pride in trying to give back to his community in meaningful ways.”

Also, Kelly has been making his required monthly payments on the roughly $8.3 million in restitution that was part of his sentence, the filing stated. 

“Mr. Kelly also intends to continue paying restitution going forward; indeed, these payments are deducted from his social security benefits,” the filing stated.

The document does not specifically state how much Kelly pays monthly toward his restitution. However, other court filings show that the minimum payments were to be 10% of his gross earnings.

Crawford has made no ruling on Kelly’s motion for early termination of his supervised release and it’s not clear when that would take place, or if a hearing will be held on the matter.

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘Consummate fixer’ convicted for EB-5 fraud in Vermont seeks to end supervised release early.

The attorney for a Burlington man sentenced to serve at least 27 years in prison for killing his wife and seriously injuring her mother with a meat cleaver in 2017 argued Thursday that the convictions for murder and attempted murder against him should be thrown out. 

Rebecca Turner, a public defender for Aita Gurung, contended during an hourlong hearing before the Vermont Supreme Court that the jury selection process in her client’s trial was flawed.

Turner also told the five justices that the trial court’s interpreter who provided Nepali translation throughout the trial for Gurung, who is Bhutanese, did not adequately perform that service. 

“The right to challenge prospective jurors runs deep in our common law tradition,” Turner said at the start of her roughly 30 minutes of arguments. “As our United States Supreme Court has confirmed in the late 1800s, it is a necessary part to ensure fairness of a jury trial.” 

Turner told the justices that during the jury selection process leading up to the trial in 2022, Judge John Pacht held a portion of the proceedings — in which attorneys raised concerns about certain jurors being assigned to the case — in his chamber, away from public view.

“Mr. Gurung, without explanation, was excluded, as were the public,” Turner said, adding that the alleged errors violated her client’s rights to an open and fair jury selection process and warranted a reversal of his convictions.  

Assistant Attorney General Sophie Stratton, one of the prosecutors in the case, countered in her argument to the justices Thursday that the issue did not meet the standard requiring the tossing out Gurung’s convictions.

Stratton said that Gurung’s defense team during the trial did not object to that portion of the jury selection process taking place outside of the courtroom. 

Additionally, Stratton said that the part of jury selection that took place in the judge’s chambers was limited to about 90 minutes out of the entire roughly four-day process it took to seat in the jury in the case. 

Gurung was found guilty by a jury in November 2022 of first-degree murder in the death of his 32-year-old wife, Yogeswari Khadka, at their home in Burlington on Oct. 12, 2017. He was also found guilty of attempted second-degree murder for seriously injuring his mother-in-law, Thulsa Rimal, in the same attack.

Pacht later sentenced Gurung to 35 years to life, with 27 years to serve and the remainder suspended on probation.

Gurung’s mental health has played a critical role in the case. 

In 2019, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George dropped the charges against Gurung, as well as two other defendants in high-profile cases, when she said she could not rebut insanity defenses based on expert opinions.

Gov. Phil Scott called on then-Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan to review each of the cases, and the state’s top prosecutor refiled charges in all three cases, including the one against Gurung.

During Gurung’s trial, his defense attorneys argued that he was not guilty because he was insane at the time of the attacks on his wife and her mother. 

The prosecution disputed that contention, maintaining it was a case of domestic violence, saying Gurung was fueled by anger after his wife would not get him a beer.

Despite rejecting the insanity defense and finding Gurung guilty of the charges against him, following the verdict nine of the 12 jurors signed a letter to the judge stating that it was their unanimous opinion that his mental condition significantly influenced the events leading to the charges against him.

Turner, one of Gurung’s appeal attorneys, cited during Thursday’s appeal hearing several other reasons why her client’s convictions should be thrown out in addition to flaws she alleged in the jury selection process.

Among those reasons, Turner pointed to the court’s Napali interpreter who translated the trial as it was happening to Gurung, who listened to the interpreter’s voice through headphones.

Turner said the issue with the court interpreter during the trial was raised by Gurung’s attorneys with the judge during that proceeding.

“The counsel told the court that the interpreter was not completing sentences, missing entire sentences, putting words together that are not exact,” Turner said. 

In addition, Turner said, the interpreter included English words in the Nepali translation for legal terms, such as “defense” and “testimony.” 

“When the trial court heard these concerns, the trial court was hostile and immediately dismissive,” Turner said. 

The Vermont Supreme Court took the arguments Thursday under advisement and are expected to issue a written opinion. The justices gave no timeline for when that decision would be issued. 

Gurung, 42, is serving his prison sentence at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Burlington man found guilty of killing wife with meat cleaver appeals his convictions to Vermont Supreme Court.

Three people linked to a group known as the Zizians are facing new felony charges related to firearms and illegal drug trafficking, on top of the misdemeanors that have kept them jailed in Maryland since February.

Members of the Zizians have been tied to violence in several states, including the fatal January shooting of a border patrol agent in northern Vermont.

The charges were filed last week against the three suspects who are named in court documents as Jack Amadeus LaSota, Michelle Jacqueline Zajko and Daniel Arthur Blank and who had previously been charged in Maryland with several misdemeanors each. 

Those charges, including the unlawful possession of handguns, trespassing and obstructing arrest, stemmed from their arrest in Frostburg, Maryland, in February while allegedly camping on private property. 

Now, prosecutors in Maryland’s Allegany County have brought a new indictment against each of them.

The new charges include felony counts of narcotic possession with intent to distribute and drug trafficking with the use of a firearm, according to court records and an article Wednesday in the Cumberland Times-News in Maryland. 

The penalties for the latest felony charges, if they lead to convictions, carry up to 20 years in prison. 

Prosecutors and attorneys for the three defendants could not be reached Wednesday afternoon for comment.

LaSota, Zajko and Blank have been in custody in Maryland since their initial arrest in February while the cases against them have been pending. 

Zajko and LaSota have also been previously charged with federal offenses as has one other person linked to the Zizians in Vermont.

In the Vermont case, two people named in court records as Felix Bauckholt and Teresa Youngblut were pulled over by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent David Maland on Jan. 20 on Interstate 91 in Coventry.

Youngblut, according to court records, opened fire, leading to a shootout that left Maland and Bauckholt dead and Youngblut injured.

Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, faces federal firearms and assault charges but has not been charged directly with killing Maland. At a court hearing Tuesday in Youngblut’s case in Burlington, a defense attorney stated he expected federal prosecutors to file new charges against his client in “short order” that carry the possibility of the death penalty.

Authorities have alleged that the guns that Youngblut and Bauckholt had at the time of the traffic stop in Vermont had been purchased by Zajko, who had lived for a time in Coventry.

Zajko has since been charged with a federal offense related to the purchases of firearms in Vermont. Zajko has not appeared in court in Vermont to face that charge.

LaSota, the alleged leader of the Zizians who blogged under the name “Ziz,” was federally indicted last week in Maryland on a charge of being an armed fugitive.

VTDigger is using Youngblut, LaSota and Bauckholt’s names and pronouns as they appear in court documents. While they have appeared to use other names in some instances, VTDigger has not been able to confirm which name each person uses in their day-to-day lives or their gender identities.

Authorities have linked the Zizians to other killings, including the January death of a landlord in Vallejo, California, and the 2022 fatal shootings of Zajko’s parents in Pennsylvania. None of the three Maryland defendants have been charged with any of the killings.

Read the story on VTDigger here: 3 people linked to the Zizians face new charges in Maryland, including felony drug trafficking.

Updated at 5:55 p.m.

BURLINGTON — A defense attorney for a person linked to the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont earlier this year anticipates his client will soon face charges that carry the death penalty.

That comment from federal public defender Steven Barth, who represents 21-year-old Teresa Youngblut, was made Tuesday afternoon during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

Barth said he expected federal death penalty eligible charges would be brought against Youngblut in “short order.” He did not elaborate on the charges during the hearing and declined to speak to reporters following the proceeding.

“You all have a good day,” he said to reporters as he walked away. 

Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont Michael Drescher, the top federal prosecutor in the state, declined comment following the hearing Tuesday afternoon. 

Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt were stopped in January by federal agents on Interstate 91 in Coventry, which led to a shootout that left Bauckholt, a German national, and Border Patrol agent David “Chris” Maland dead.

Youngblut has since been charged with two federal offenses. One charge alleged that Youngblut “used a firearm while knowingly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with a U.S. Border Patrol Agent while he was engaged in official duties.” 

The second charge stated that Youngblut “knowingly carried, brandished and discharged a firearm” during a violent crime. Youngblut pleaded not guilty to the charges in February and has been held without bail. 

Youngblut has not been directly charged with firing the fatal shot that killed Maland. 

In a document released in May titled, “Summary of Incident: Border Patrol Agent and subject killed during vehicle stop in Vermont,” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated that Youngblut fired a shot during the incident and struck a Border Patrol agent. However, the report does not explicitly state who fired the shot that killed Maland.

Youngblut and Bauckholt allegedly had ties to a loosely connected group of people known as the “Zizians,” an offshoot of the San Francisco Bay Area so-called Rationalist movement. The offshoot has been tied to several other homicides, including in California and Pennsylvania.

Another person linked to that group, Maximilian Snyder, was arrested in the Jan. 17 homicide of a Vallejo, California, landlord. Snyder and Youngblut had previously applied for a marriage certificate in Washington, where they both resided in the past.

VTDigger is using Youngblut, Bauckholt and Snyder’s names as they appear in court documents. While all three people have appeared to use other names in some instances, VTDigger has not been able to confirm which name each person uses in their day-to-day lives or their gender identities.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year issued a directive calling to revive the federal death penalty and lift a moratorium on federal executions that had been in place during the Biden administration. 

In that directive, Bondi called on U.S. attorneys in federal districts across the country to review cases and pursue the death penalty in those that could be eligible.

In that directive, Bondi specifically cited the case involving the fatal shooting in Vermont, writing: “This policy applies to the recent murder of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent David Maland during a traffic stop in Vermont.”

Federal prosecutors had signaled in May that new charges would be brought in the case, with a court filing stating, “the government has indicated that it is actively exploring additional charges.” 

The roughly 30-minute hearing Tuesday largely focused on the handling of issues around the sharing of materials collected as part of the investigation in the case with the parties. 

Youngblut sat quietly throughout the hearing between her two attorneys at the defense table, dressed in a maroon short-sleeve shirt and white pants. Youngblut and her two attorneys all wore medical masks covering parts of their faces. 

Prior to the hearing, Youngblut’s defense attorney filed a sealed motion seeking to close the courtroom to the public for Tuesday’s proceeding, citing in part, that certain information about Youngblut may be disclosed, including the location of her pretrial detention. 

“Further, the defense noted in its initial motion to seal that the media coverage of this case has been so regular and widespread that reporting on such matters may tend to taint any future jury pool,” a defense filing stated. 

“For those reasons,” the document added, “the defense requests that the Court order the courtroom closed to the public for the upcoming hearing and the subsequent transcript sealed.”

Federal prosecutors submitted their own sealed filing objecting to the defense request.

Judge Christina Reiss denied the defense motion to close the courtroom to the public. 

Also, the sealed documents submitted by both parties were publicly released following the hearing.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Defense attorney expects charges carrying the death penalty to be filed against client in Border Patrol killing.

The alleged leader of the Zizians, Jack LaSota, already jailed in Maryland on state misdemeanor drug and gun charges, has now been indicted on a federal felony firearms offense.

The Zizians have been connected to a cross-country string of homicides, including the fatal shooting earlier this year of a border patrol agent in northern Vermont. 

A federal grand jury in Maryland this week indicted LaSota, 34, of Fairbanks, Alaska, also known as Andrea Phelps, Ann Grimes, Anne Grimes, Canaris, Julia LaSota and Ziz, on a charge of being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition.  

The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years, if the accused is convicted. 

Prosecutors alleged in court records that LaSota possessed several firearms in February, including a .50-caliber rifle, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. At the time, according to court records, LaSota was a fugitive from justice and as a result was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition.

The federal charge against LaSota stems from his arrest Feb. 16 in Frostburg, Maryland, along with companions Daniel Blank and Michelle Zajko. 

All three pleaded not guilty earlier this month to multiple state charges, including trespassing, obstructing arrest and possession of firearms. A Maryland state court ordered them held in custody while those state cases remain pending. 

Zajko has also been charged with federal firearms offenses in Vermont. No court appearance has been set in that case. 

Federal prosecutors in Vermont alleged that Zajko bought the weapons that were in the possession of Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt, also known as Ophelia, earlier this year. 

Youngblut and Bauckholt were stopped in January by federal agents on Interstate 91 in a traffic stop that led to a shootout that left Bauckholt and Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland dead. 

Youngblut has been charged in Vermont with federal firearms and assault charges in connection with that shootout. Youngblut has pleaded not guilty to the offenses and a hearing in that case is set for next week in federal court in Burlington. 

LaSota, Blank, Youngblut, Bauckholt and Zajko all allegedly had ties to the Zizians, a loosely connected group of people and offshoot of the Rationalist movement. 

Another person linked to the Zizian group, Maximilian Snyder, was arrested in the Jan. 17 murder of a Vallejo, California, landlord. Snyder and Youngblut had previously applied for a marriage certificate in Washington state. 

Zajko’s parents were fatally shot in their Pennsylvania home on New Year’s Eve in 2022, according to police, and Zajko was questioned in their deaths in January 2023. In a letter to the media earlier this year, Zajko denied involvement in the fatal shootings, writing, “I didn’t murder my parents.” 

LaSota, the namesake of the Zizian group, had been charged in 2023 in Pennsylvania with disorderly conduct and obstruction in connection with the probe into the death of Zajko’s parents, according to court records. LaSota did not show up for later court hearings after posting bail and being released, according to court documents.

It’s not clear from the federal indictment handed down this week if the charge of being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition stems from LaSota not appearing for hearings in the Pennsylvania case.  

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland could not be reached Friday for comment. No attorney was listed for LaSota in the court filings and his lawyer in the state court case could not be reached Friday for comment. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Federal authorities bring firearms charge against alleged leader of Zizians.