Sometimes young MA drug criminals are the shooters, sometimes they’re the victims
By Guy Page
A Springfield, Massachusetts teen is scheduled to appear in court today Wednesday, Oct. 23, to answer a charge of being an accessory to an October 14 fatal shooting in the Kneeland Flats Trailer Park in Waterbury. On Saturday a 20-year-old man from Springfield, MA was charged with second-degree murder in the same shooting.
Samuel Niyonsenga, 18, is due for arraignment at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Barre on a charge of accessory to second-degree murder. He is accused of participating in the incident at the Kneeland Flats Trailer Park during which Shawn Spiker, 34, of Croydon, New Hampshire, was fatally shot, and Michael S. Perry, 57, of Waterbury was wounded.
Niyonsenga was ordered held without bail pending arraignment. He is currently incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
Saturday October 19 state police arrested Fabrice Rumama, 20, of Springfield in connection with the shooting and killing of Shawn Spiker, 34, of Croyden NH. During the incident Michael Perry, 57 of Waterbury was shot and wounded inside a trailer at the trailer park.
Rumama is charged with second-degree murder. A judge ordered Rumama jailed without bail pending arraignment, which is expected to occur Monday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m., in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Barre.
Based on a police affidavit referenced in the Times-Argus, the two young men are believed to have been drug money collector/enforcers. The report also said that Niyonsenga has been charged in Vermont courts for fentanyl distribution.
The youths’ alleged involvement in the shootings is the latest instance of young men from out-of-state being used as triggermen in Vermont drug-trafficking related disputes. The Vermont criminal justice system is vulnerable to this exploitation because the law gives latitude for young violent criminals to be tried as juveniles, and because Vermont has no established ‘juvenile jail’ AKA Secure Youth Treatment Facility since the closure of the Woodside facility in Essex Junction several years ago.
For example, in February 2024 Mohamed Said, 15, of Springfield MA was charged as an adult for felony second-degree murder for the targeted shooting and killing Christina Chatlos in St. Johnsbury. Chatlos had two drug charges on her record. Another youth was involved in the shooting, police said.
Sometimes young out-of-state drug criminals are victims of violence inflicted by instate drug dealers. Vermonters Ted Bland and Dilan Jiron – both members of prominent Vermont legal families – are accused in the shooting deaths of two Massachusetts young men in Vermont to sell drugs. Elijah Oliver, 22, of Haverhill MA was killed in a drug-deal scuffle in Swanton in 2022. A Colchester resident was convicted.
A thorough review of Vermont crime news would find young, out-of-state men on both sides of the fatal gun shot.
What is the State of Vermont doing about it?
The Legislature has attempted to respond to the use of teens by violent drug organizations. S.3, passed in 2023, allows authorities to transfer from family court to adult criminal court the violent, drug-related crimes of youths age 16-19.
This year, the State of Vermont cracked down on youth drug violence. The Executive Branch (Scott administration) and the Legislature worked together to give the Judiciary quite a few new tools to get tough on drug dealers.
New laws – notably S.58 and S.195 – expand pre-sentencing options and toughen sentencing for drug trafficking, use of guns in commission of felonies, and crimes committed by youth.
The Legislature expanded the use of bail. It lifted the $200 cap. Also, judges may now set bail for failure to appear in court. It’s not just about flight risk anymore.
Judges may impose other, more stringent, and hopefully more persuasive conditions of release for failure to appear.
And the Legislature created the Home Detention Program, which is “designed to provide an alternative to incarceration and reduce the number of detainees at Vermont correctional facilities by accommodating defendants who would otherwise be incarcerated or pose a significant risk to public safety.”
The State also restored the post-sentence Dept. of Corrections work crew – another more restrictive, but not quite prison, program.
Homicides up in 2022, 2023
The Green Mountain State lawmakers are aware that crimes are up including homicides. According to Vermont State Police, the state has surpassed 20 homicides in each of the past two years, with 27 in 2023 and 24 in 2022.
Out-of-state drug dealers – young or otherwise – are at least part of the issue. In October 2023 the Vermont Daily Chronicle reported that a federal grand jury returned a 14-count indictment against Rockylane Lewis, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Aisha Davy, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts; and Holly Howard, 49, of Brattleboro.
Governor Phil Scott in his recent State of the State Address noted that crime is rising.
“And in the last 10 years, violent crime reported to police increased 56%, aggravated assault by 65%, sexual assault by 76%, and homicide by 166%. We cannot deny these trends,” he said.
Burlington’s Mayor Weinberger in February put out a commentary indicating that drugs are fueling the crime waves.
“We have seen a more than 300% increase in overdose deaths over the last decade, losing 264 Vermonters in 2022, and the drug crisis is driving dramatic increases in serious crimes like shootings, homicides, and vehicle theft statewide,” he wrote.
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