MIDDLEBURY – An Addison County farmhand, who state police say slashed a co-worker with a broken glass bottle, pleaded not guilty in Vermont Superior Court on Friday afternoon to a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Jose Armando Lopez Moreno, 22, of Panton was ordered held for lack of $5,000 bail.  He also denied a misdemeanor count of simple assault by striking the victim in the head with a bottle.

Marcos Diaz Lopez, 23, also of Panton had to be airlifted to the UVM Medical Center in Burlington following the incident on Jersey Street in Panton about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Diaz Lopez, who was slashed in the lower left chest with a broken Corona bottle, remains hospitalized and is listed in critical but stable condition, state police said Friday afternoon.

Detective Sgt. Erin Hodges said police responded to a report that two farmworkers had gotten into an altercation during which one of the workers stabbed and slashed the other with a broken bottle at a mobile home at 4312 Jersey Street. 

The police investigation was slowed due to many of the people being unable to speak English, court papers noted.  Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy blocks state police from asking if they are in the country legally.

The stabbing happened on a well-known sprawling dairy farm owned by Gerard Vorsteveld, 51, and his brother, Hans, 62, police said. They have about 3,000 cows.

Police said Hans Vorsteveld reported Lopez Moreno had lived at the trailer for a few years, while Lopez-Moreno had been there a few months. 

Blood was found throughout the trailer by Sgts. Joseph Szarejko and Steven Gelder as they walked through the residence.  The blood was on the kitchen floor and wall and extended into a bathroom, police said.

First responders located the bloodied victim with what appeared to be serious but non-life-threatening injuries and lumps on the top of his head, police said.  Blood was coming from an ear, Hodges said.

Due to the serious nature of the injuries a decision was made by Vergennes Area Rescue Squad to seek a helicopter to fly Diaz Lopez to Burlington for treatment, police said.

Lopez Moreno also was located at the scene and was brought to UVMMC for evaluation after reporting a head injury, Hodges said.

The two men were the only people at home during the incident, and they told conflicting stories, police said.

Lopez Moreno was eventually released from the Burlington hospital and was brought to the state police barracks in New Haven by Trooper Kelsey Dobson about 4:20 a.m. Friday.  

The suspect was interviewed in Spanish by Detective Trooper Eric Acevedo, who is fluent in Spanish, police said.

Lopez Moreno maintained Diaz Lopez had been drinking and they got into a skirmish that involved hitting, punching, and pushing, police said.   The defendant said at one point he was on the ground and was kicked, police said.  He said he made it back to his room and called his boss to report the incident.

Police, meanwhile, reported Diaz Lopez claimed Lopez Moreno had come from work, had a few beers and “and started to act all crazy,” Hodges said in court papers.

The investigation involved the uniform and detective divisions of Vermont State Police.

Judge Robert Katims told the defendant during his arraignment that if released he would be restricted from access to deadly weapons or having contact with the victim.  The judge also ordered Lopez Moreno not to return to the residence and to refrain from any alcohol.

In an unusual move, Katims ruled Lopez Moreno could be arrested without a warrant if he does not stay away from the victim or abuses him in any way.

Detectives encourage anyone with information about this case to call the New Haven Barracks at (802) 388-4919.