Friday, May 4, 2018
In a 3-2 opinion, justices ruled that William Schenk's action did not convey an "imminent threat of harm" as required by the law to support the charge.
Schenk, 21 at the time, told investigators that he was on a KKK recruiting mission and distributed around 50 flyers that read "Join the Klan and save our land." But authorities said he left flyers for just two people: One of the women is African American, and the other identified herself as Mexican, according to court documents.
"The flyer is a recruitment solicitation — its overt message is to join the Ku Klux Klan," former associate justice John Dooley wrote. "It contains no explicit statement of threat. To the extent that it conveys a message of personal threat to the recipient, it is that the Klan will recruit members and inflict harm in the future."
Tags: William Schenk , Vermont Supreme Court , John Dooley , Beth Robinson , free speech , KKK , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Robert Robidoux, 34, of Richmond, is charged with selling a drug, death resulting, in the deaths of Sean and Dennis Thibault. The offense carries a 20-year maximum sentence. He's also charged with selling heroin.
Tags: Dennis Thibault , fentanyl , heroin , Opioid Crisis , Penny Thibault , Robert Robidoux , Sean Thibault , Image , Web Only
The proposal was designed to help law enforcement check for stoned drivers once recreational marijuana becomes legal for adults in July.
Tags: Cannabeat , saliva , spit , oral fluid , test , marijuana , legalization , road safety , highway , vehicle , Dick Sears , Alice Nitka , Vermont , cannabis , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
But we haven't all unloaded in the way that Leroy Mason allegedly did on Monday.
Fed up with "frequent false alarms," the Barton man made like Doc Holliday in the O.K. Corral, twice blasting his smoke detector with a 20-gauge shotgun, Vermont State Police said.
Tags: Vermont State Police , Leroy Mason , firearms , smoke alarms , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The kits, which allow users to determine if heroin is laced with the potent, often undetectable opiate, have been handed out to 130 people across the state, Health Department officials told Seven Days.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine said that the project has been a success: 90 percent of users said in follow-up interviews that they changed their behavior — by discarding the batch of heroin, using less, making sure they had an overdose-reversing drug on hand, or using in the presence of someone else — if the kit detected fentanyl.
Tags: Brandon del Pozo , fentanyl , Health Department , Mark Levine , opiates , Opioid Crisis , overdose , Rutland , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 23, 2018
State Police Capt. Kevin Lane told the House Judiciary Committee Friday that the agency stopped using the technology because of state rules put into place in 2016 and the potential cost of replacing the devices as they reach the end of their useful lifespan.
“Looking at replacements was expensive, and some of the reporting requirements when the law changed were very challenging to meet,” Lane said.
Tags: privacy , law enforcement , ALPRs , license plate scanners , license plate readers , Image , Web Only
The decision, which comes after weeks of legal challenges, could pave the way for 18-year-old Jack Sawyer to soon be released from jail.
The move has seemed inevitable since April 11, when the Vermont Supreme Court overturned Judge Thomas Zonay's decision to hold Sawyer without bail on the charges — three counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted aggravated assault. He still faces two misdemeanor charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon.
In their ruling, justices said Sawyer's actions were "preparatory" and not "undertaken in the attempt to commit a crime."
In a Friday filing with the court dismissing the charges, Kennedy said the Supreme Court decision rendered the charges "untenable" and left her with "no choice."
Tags: Jack Sawyer , Rosemary Kennedy , Vermont Supreme Court , Kelly Green , Fair Haven Union High School , school shooting , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Richard Monroe, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Rutland to a firearms charge for fatally shooting Kevin DeOliveira, 23, and to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Monroe's plea agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Federal authorities said that in late 2014, Monroe and DeOliveira argued about several ounces of cocaine that had been damaged. DeOliveira, a New Jersey native, claimed that Monroe owed him several thousand dollars. Monroe disagreed.
On the morning of January 2, 2015, Monroe approached DeOliveira's Greene Street apartment. When DeOliveira opened the door, Monroe shot him once though the eye with a .22 pistol, authorities said.
Tags: Kevin DeOliveira , Richard Monroe , Christina Nolan , Burlington , drugs , crime , cocaine , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Jack Sawyer, 18, who previously had been held without bail, could soon be heading to an inpatient mental health program. Sawyer's attorney, Kelly Green, said arrangements have been made for him to be admitted to the Brattleboro Retreat as soon as Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if Sawyer would be released from jail. In an interview, Green said the Sawyer family would not post bail Tuesday but was "pursuing it."
Judge Thomas Zonay ordered that if Sawyer does post bail, he must be on 24/7 curfew at his father's home in Poultney. The judge also said he is open to having Sawyer go to the Brattleboro Retreat.
Tags: Jack Sawyer , Rosemary Kennedy , Thomas Zonay , Fair Haven Union High School , crime , school shooting , David Sawyer , Image , Web Only
An hour and a half after Nate Giffin, 32, robbed a nearby bank, police shot him, firing 21 to 23 rounds. Authorities said Giffin repeatedly raised his gun, even after being wounded. It turned out to be a BB pistol.
Giffin, a Burlington resident, repeatedly threatened police and made suicidal statements, Attorney General T.J. Donovan said. Giffin pointed his weapon at officers who had scrambled to the school, which was in session. Students were put on lockdown.
"I'm not going back to jail, so something is going to happen," Giffin told officers during the hour-long standoff. He made other statements, such as "Are you guys ready? We're going to rock and roll," and "Tell my dad I'm sorry," according to authorities.
Tags: T.J. Donovan , Vermont State Police , Montpelier High School , Matt Birmingham , Tony Facos , Rory Thibault , police shootings , Nathan Giffin , Image , Web Only