Monday, October 3, 2016
Parker Berry, of Hyde Park, wandered away from Elephant in the Field daycare center and was found unconscious in a nearby brook. The boy died two days later.
The Department for Children and Families revoked Elephant in the Field's daycare license after the incident.
Williams said that actions already taken against the daycare will "remove future risk to public safety."
Tags: Scott Williams , Parker Berry , Elephant in the Field , Waterbury , daycare , Image , Web Only
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Dooley, a 72-year-old New Hampshire native who attended Boston College Law School, was appointed to the bench in 1987 by former governor Madeleine Kunin. He had previously served as her secretary of administration.
Dooley, a South Burlington resident, told the news station he'll step down when his term ends in March.
Tags: Vermont Supreme Court , John Dooley , Madeleine Kunin , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
The New England First Amendment Coalition wants officials to release body camera videos of the incident so the public can evaluate Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Palmier's decision to open fire on Jesse Beshaw, 29, after a brief foot chase Friday evening in downtown Winooski.
Beshaw, the subject of an arrest warrant for burglary and unlawful mischief, approached Palmier with his right hand behind his back and did not respond to Palmier's verbal commands, Vermont State Police said. He was shot seven times and died at the scene.
Tags: Winooski police , Burlington police , Jesse Beshaw , Rick Hebert , New England First Amendment Coalition , public records , body cameras , Nicolas Palmier , Franklin County Sheriff's Office , Image , Web Only
Saturday, September 17, 2016
A Winooski man was unarmed when he was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy Friday afternoon, Vermont State Police said Saturday night.
After a brief foot chase through the Malletts Bay Avenue neighborhood in Winooski, Jesse Beshaw, 29, approached Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Palmier with his right hand behind his back, state police said.
Beshaw did not respond to Palmier’s verbal commands and Palmier opened fire as Beshaw continued to advance, state police said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Beshaw suffered six gunshot wounds and one “apparent grazing” gunshot wound to his head and torso, state police said.
Winooski police officers arrived soon after the shooting and administered aid, but Beshaw died at the scene. Palmier was wearing a body camera that captured the shooting, state police said.
Tags: Jesse Beshaw , Winooski police , Vermont State Police , officer-involved shooting , Image , Web Only
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan, a Democrat, and St. Johnsbury attorney Deborah Bucknam, a Republican, took part in an hour-long debate sponsored by the Vermont Bar Association in the Pavilion Building. They are vying to replace longtime Attorney General Bill Sorrell, who is not seeking reelection.
In front of about 50 onlookers, many of them lawyers, the candidates often engaged in cordial exchanges and found little to disagree about.
Their sharpest difference emerged when they were asked about Vermont's reliance on sending prisoners out of state. The Department of Corrections has more inmates than prison cells, and has for years contracted with private companies to house the overflow inmates elsewhere. Currently, approximately 200 Vermont inmates are being held in a Michigan prison run by the GEO Group.
Tags: T.J. Donovan , Deborah Bucknam , Bill Sorrell , debate , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
She will speak at Saint Michael’s College on Wednesday, September 7, at 7 p.m. at the McCarthy Arts Center. Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo is scheduled to speak after her.
In advance of her talk, Levy-Pounds spoke with Seven Days about modern policing and racial tensions. The conversation was edited for clarity and brevity.
SEVEN DAYS: In the two years since Ferguson, how far has the conversation about police relations and minorities advanced?
NEKIMA LEVY-POUNDS: Some people are stuck at the conversation level, the shock and awe of seeing unarmed people killed on video by police, but we have to begin to take the conversation to the next level if widespread change will occur. I would like to see a jurisdictional overhaul of policing. We can all agree we want police to protect and serve, but sometimes lines are crossed, unarmed people are hurt and killed, and there’s a lack of accountability.
Tags: Black Lives Matter , Brandon del Pozo , cannabis related , Nekima Levy-Pounds , police , racial tension , Image , Web Only
Monday, September 5, 2016
Essex police on Monday morning obtained an arrest warrant for Jacob St. Amour in connection with the slaying of 22-year-old Ryan Durkin of South Burlington, Essex Police Lt. Ken Beaulieu told Seven Days.
WCAX-TV reported that Williston police arrested St. Amour Monday morning.
The stabbing occurred around 11 p.m. as fair attendees celebrated its final hours. There were many witnesses, Beaulieu said.
Tags: Champlain Valley Fair , murder , Jacob St. Amour , Ryan Durkin , Ken Beaulieu , Essex police , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Authorities charged Leroy Hughes, 32, and Mehmed Devac, 22, for the August 11 incident inside the Newport prison. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Orleans Superior Court in October. Kidnapping carries a maximum life sentence.
The standoff drew a horde of officers from state police, the Orleans County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Border Patrol to the prison. Every prison in the state was briefly locked down in response, WCAX-TV reported.
Tags: Vermont DOC , kidnapping , Mehmed Devac , Leroy Hughes , Northern State Correctional Facility , Newport , Image , Web Only
Friday, August 5, 2016
In a unanimous decision, justices said authorities had no legal basis to charge Martin "Serendipity" Morales, an inmate at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland who helped at least five inmates file legal briefs.
In February 2016, the Bennington County State's Attorney's Office, with the help of the Vermont Attorney General's Office, invoked an obscure statute to charge Morales, who is serving time for burglary and domestic assault, with practicing law without a license.
Tags: Serendipity Morales , Bennington County , Emily Tredeau , Alex Burke , Vermont Attorney General's Office , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
A Bennington County judge recently threw out what appears to be the first criminal case brought under the law, citing concerns about its constitutionality. The case is likely to be heard by the Vermont Supreme Court.
Defense attorneys and other critics of the law, which was passed in response to concerns about vengeful ex-lovers posting explicit images of their former partners on social media, warned lawmakers in 2015 that it could run afoul of First Amendment protections. Previously, such cases could be heard in civil court, but there were no criminal penalties.
Tags: revenge porn , Albert Schaal Fox , Erica Marthage , Matt Valerio , Vermont Supreme Court , Bennington County , Image , Web Only