Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Zachary Pigeon, 29, and his 56-year-old father Allen Pigeon were arrested Sunday and pleaded not guilty in state court Monday to charges of kidnapping, unlawful restraint, obstruction of justice, burglary and simple assault. Zachary Pigeon will be arraigned again Wednesday on charges of sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, prosecutors said.
A Vermont Superior Court judge released both men on Monday pending trial. They each face up to life in prison.
Tags: Zachary Pigeon , Allen Pigeon , St Albans Police Department , Gary Taylor , Michael Ferguson , Mark Schwartz , Jason Lawton , Joel Daugreilh , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Shelley Palmer, owner of Big Brother Security Programs, sold thousands of basic surgical masks to Central Vermont Medical Center last month as the hospital was trying to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
Such masks are worth around 10 cents each, but Palmer charged the nonprofit hospital $2.50 per mask, reaping an “exploitative gain” of at least $80,000, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office said.
Tags: Coronavirus , covid-19 , price gouging , personal protective equipment , ppe , vermont attorney general , t.j. donovan , shelley palmer , big brother security programs. , Web Only , Image
Saturday, April 11, 2020
A total of 32 inmates out of nearly 200 who were confined at the St. Albans prison have tested positive for COVID-19, the Vermont Department of Corrections announced Saturday. Another 16 employees have also contracted the virus, with nine employee tests still pending.
The outbreak is nearly as large, in terms of case volume, as those at two Burlington nursing homes, where more than 50 residents and staff at each have been diagnosed.
Tags: Northwest State Correctional Facility , Northeast Correctional Complex , Vermont Department of Corrections , coronavirus , covid-19 , Web Only , Image
Thursday, April 9, 2020
At least 29 inmates and eight guards have been infected, the Vermont Department of Corrections said Thursday night. Most are not showing symptoms, but they will be moved to Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, which the state has planned to use as a quarantine facility in the event of an outbreak.
Tags: Northwest State Correctional Facility , Vermont Department of Corrections , coronavirus , covid-19 , prisons , inmates , ACLU of Vermont , Jim Baker , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
He’s the first inmate in the Vermont prison system to have tested positive for the virus. Three staffers at the Swanton facility, including a corrections officer, have tested positive, as well.
"We anticipated it was not a case of if, but when," Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said during a press conference Wednesday morning. He added: "I am not surprised we now have a positive inmate. This is a contagious virus."
The Department of Corrections said in a press release Wednesday that it will test all 199 inmates and the 125 staff members who work at the prison “immediately over the next 24 hours.”
In the press release, DOC Interim Commissioner Jim Baker said: “We have been very focused on protecting staff and inmates, and are moving quickly to increase testing and put in place even more measures to reduce contact. We have been planning for this from the outset of the pandemic and will continue to adjust as we learn more.”
Tags: coronavirus , COVID-19 , testing , prisons , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Monday, April 6, 2020
The Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton is in full lockdown after two staffers tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.
The lockdown means inmates must stay in their cells — where they’ll receive essential services, meals and medications — “except for emergency and hygiene purposes,” the Vermont Department of Corrections said in a press release Monday night.
The DOC announced a “modified lockdown” for the facility earlier Monday because a staffer who last worked at the facility on March 28 had experienced coronavirus symptoms. Test results came back positive later Monday.
Tags: Jim Baker , Northwest State Correctional Facility , inmates , COVID-19 , Web Only , Image
Friday, April 3, 2020
The Burlington Police Department will begin enforcing Gov. Phil Scott's executive order this weekend, aiming at what city officials said is a small number of residents who are "willfully" not complying.
The new approach was announced at Mayor Miro Weinberger's afternoon briefing.
Tags: covid-19 , coronavirus , burlington police department , civil tickets , stay at home order , T.J. Donovan , Attorney General , Jon Murad , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
The staffer is Vermont's second prison employee to be diagnosed. No inmates have tested positive. Unlike the first case, which involved an administrative employee at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, this staffer had some access to inmates, the department said in a press release.
Tags: Department of Corrections , Jim Baker , Northwest State Correctional Facility , coronavirus , covid-19 , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Last week, Chief Superior Court Judge Brian Grearson recommended to the Senate Judiciary Committee that it allow courts — with the agreement of both prosecutors and defense attorneys — to "reduce or otherwise modify" sentences during or immediately after the coronavirus emergency declared by Gov. Phil Scott. Under current law, such modifications can typically be made only within 90 days of sentencing.
Criminal justice reform advocates have warned in recent weeks that an outbreak in the state's prison system could be especially deadly, and they have called for the courts and the Department of Corrections to release older and unwell prisoners.
The committee added Grearson's proposal to emergency legislation it's considering that would make several changes to the judicial system during the outbreak. But during a video meeting on Tuesday, senators decided to remove the provision because they worried it would become too controversial and bog down the underlying bill. They plan instead to append it to another bill, which is unlikely to move anytime soon.
Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington), who chairs the committee, said he was particularly concerned that those who committed "certain horrific crimes" might seek sentence reductions. "I just think you'd have this outcry in the public," he said.
Tags: Senate Judiciary Committee , Vermont Department of Corrections , Dick Sears , Brian Grearson , Matthew Valerio , Jim Baker , Phil Baruth , Falko Schilling , Web Only , Image
Monday, March 23, 2020
A prison employee who works at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport has coronavirus, Department of Corrections Interim Commissioner Jim Baker said Monday.
The staffer did not work in the secure portion of the facility where inmates live, Baker said, declining to specify the individual's role as a matter of privacy. The individual, who last worked on March 17, was in proximity to other employees who would work with inmates, Baker acknowledged.
Upon learning of the test result, the department took “immediate" steps, including deep cleaning the employee’s work area, Baker said. The department is also tracking other staff who had contact with the individual, a subsequent press release stated.
Baker said no inmates had been tested for COVID-19 as of Monday, but that the department is monitoring several who have fevers. There are just over 400 people incarcerated at Northern State Correctional Facility and 128 work there.
Tags: Department of Corrections , Jim Baker , Northern State Correctional Facility , coronavirus , covid-19 , Web Only , Image