The week’s heaviest news came out of a federal courtroom in Burlington, where a Stowe man received two consecutive life sentences for a pair of drug-related killings. Elsewhere the pattern was familiar and grim — domestic and sexual assault arrests in Washington County, an interstate fentanyl pipeline intercepted on a Brattleboro side street, and a steady run of out-of-state fugitives turning up at Vermont ports of entry and traffic stops.
Addison: Desiree D. Garrison, 42, of Vergennes, was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and criminal driving without a license following a Sept. 11 crash on Monkton Road near the Parks-Hurlburt Road intersection in Monkton. State police say the operator left the scene and was driving without a valid license. She is due in Addison County Superior Court on Nov. 2. Read more
Bennington: Gerson Montes, 25, of Schenectady, N.Y., was cited on suspicion of drug-impaired DUI after a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of U.S. Route 7 and Kocher Drive in Bennington on the night of Sept. 10. A Bennington Police cruiser was among the vehicles struck. Montes is scheduled to appear in Bennington County Superior Court on Dec. 14. Read more
John Gagliardi, 74, of Daytona Beach, Fla., was cited for negligent operation after troopers clocked him at 95 mph in a 55 mph zone on U.S. Route 7 at Exit 4 in Manchester on the morning of Sept. 12. His arraignment is set for Oct. 26 in Bennington. Read more
Caledonia: Nicole Rivet, 34, of St. Johnsbury, was cited for unlawful trespass on the evening of Sept. 9 after police say she refused to leave the grounds of a St. Johnsbury hospital. She was released and is due in Caledonia County Criminal Court on Oct. 5. Read more
Ryan Nolan, 36, of Hardwick, was cited for first-offense DUI after a 1:32 a.m. traffic stop on Route 2 in Danville on Sept. 13. Troopers reported detecting indicators of impairment. Nolan was processed at the St. Johnsbury barracks and cited to appear in Caledonia County Superior Court on Sept. 28. Read more
Chittenden: Todd H. Towsley, 50, of Richmond, faces charges of assault and robbery, resisting arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer after an incident at Simon’s convenience store in Williston on the night of Sept. 13. Police say he threatened to shoot an employee if he was not given a pack of cigarettes, took the cigarettes and drove off in a white van, and that he assaulted a Williston police officer. He was held for lack of $2,500 bail pending arraignment Sept. 14. Read more
Jason P. Breault, 50, of no fixed address, was held for lack of $2,500 bail pending arraignment Sept. 14 in Chittenden Superior Court over a Sept. 12 incident near South Winooski Avenue and Bank Street in Burlington. Police say Breault pointed what appeared to be a handgun at passing vehicles; officers determined the object was a replica pistol-style lighter. Police also say he had been issued a no-trespass order barring him from the property where he was standing. Read more
Essex: Dante Belen, 26, of Conway, N.H., was cited for first-offense DUI after a single-vehicle crash on VT Route 114 in Warren’s Gore at roughly 12:11 a.m. on Sept. 11. Troopers reported observing indicators of impairment and took him into custody at the scene. He was released on a citation to appear in the Orleans County criminal division on Sept. 29. Read more
Franklin: Craig Fuller, 41, of Richford — whose earlier case this series has covered — was arrested again on the evening of Sept. 14 on Main Street in Richford. Troopers say Fuller was known to have multiple active warrants and attempted to flee when contacted. He now faces two counts of retail theft of $250 or less, driving without a license, credit card fraud over $50, petit larceny of $900 or less and resisting arrest. He was held on $1,250 bail at Northwest State Correctional Facility and was due in Franklin County Criminal Court on Sept. 15. Read more
Maxim Popoff, 34, of no fixed address, was arrested at the Highgate port of entry midday Sept. 9 on an extraditable warrant out of Missouri. He was charged with arrest prior to requisition — fugitive from justice — held on $35,000 bail at Northwest State Correctional Facility, and was due in Franklin County Superior Court the following afternoon. Read more
Daniel Leduc, 41, of Enosburg, was charged with domestic assault after troopers responded to a reported assault at a residence on West Enosburg Road on the evening of Sept. 10. Police say the investigation determined Leduc had assaulted a member of the household. He was released with a citation to appear in Franklin County Court on Sept. 11. Read more
Lamoille: Theodore Bland, 31, of Stowe, was sentenced Sept. 14 by U.S. District Judge William Sessions to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for shooting and killing two men in October 2023, with concurrent sentences on related federal drug and firearms counts. Bland pleaded guilty this spring under an agreement that took capital punishment off the table. The victims, Jahim Solomon and Eric White, were both 21 and from Massachusetts; prosecutors said Bland killed them to take drugs he knew they were carrying. Read more
Scott Horner, 26, of Hyde Park, was cited for leaving the scene of an accident after a Sept. 11 crash on VT Route 15 in Cambridge. Police say his vehicle left the roadway, struck multiple road signs and then hit a guardrail; Horner reported brake failure and acknowledged continuing to drive without reporting the first collision. He is due in Lamoille County Superior Court on Oct. 28. Read more
Orange: David Devaux, 73, of Corinth, was arrested Sept. 12 after troopers responded to a theft report on Cookeville Road. Police say Devaux went onto a neighbor’s property, took a four-wheeler and then drove it on a public highway; he was also found to have an extraditable warrant from New Hampshire. He faces charges of fugitive from justice, burglary, grand larceny, aggravated operating without consent of the owner, possession of stolen property, unlawful trespass, violation of conditions of release and operating after suspension. He was held on $25,000 bail pending arraignment Sept. 14 in Orange County Superior Court. Read more
Orleans: Timothy Souliere, 63, of Barton, was arrested on three counts of violating conditions of release and one count of attempted unlawful trespass after a Sept. 8 incident on Roland Lane in Barton. State police say Souliere attempted to enter a residence knowing he was not allowed on the property. He was held on $1,500 bail at Northern State Correctional Facility pending arraignment Sept. 9. Read more
Shawn Alexander, 24, of Newport Center, was cited for disorderly conduct and unlawful mischief following a 2:30 a.m. incident Sept. 14 on Main Street in North Troy. Police say he damaged a parked vehicle, vandalized a municipal sign and behaved in a disorderly manner in a public place. He was released on a citation to appear in Orleans County Court on Nov. 17. Read more
Rutland: Charles Leeseman, 69, of Danby, was cited for aggravated assault after a Sept. 14 landlord-tenant dispute on Cascade Road in Danby. According to state police, Leeseman threatened a 66-year-old Danby man with a deadly weapon. He was released with a citation to appear in the Rutland criminal division. Read more
Frank Castaneda, 44, of Ludlow, was cited for driving under the influence after a pre-dawn stop on VT Route 103 near Shunpike Road in Mount Holly on Sept. 15. He is scheduled to appear in the Rutland criminal division on Oct. 5. Read more
Washington: Sean Bacon, 34, of no fixed address, was ordered held without bail on charges of aggravated sexual assault, first-degree aggravated domestic assault and first-degree unlawful restraint. State police responded to Waterbury at 12:24 a.m. Sept. 14 after a report that a sexual and domestic assault had just occurred; the victim reported being held against her will and assaulted. Troopers located Bacon and took him into custody. His arraignment was set for that afternoon in Washington County criminal court in Barre, and he was lodged at Northeast Correctional Center. Read more
Thomas Fallon, 56, of Calais, was arrested on charges of second-degree aggravated domestic assault and violation of conditions of release after troopers responded to a reported disturbance on Luce Road in Calais the morning of Sept. 12. Police say Fallon had violated his release conditions and assaulted a member of the household. He was held on $5,000 bail pending arraignment Sept. 14. Read more
Jeffrey Flood, 44, of Barre, was cited for second-offense DUI and driving with a suspended license following a Sept. 9 afternoon stop on VT Route 62 at Paine Turnpike North in Berlin. His arraignment is set for Nov. 10 in Washington County Superior Court. Read more
Windham: A Sept. 14 traffic stop on Canal Street in Brattleboro turned up roughly 196 bags of suspected fentanyl and heroin, state police say. Lorenzo Ward, 30, of Higganum, Conn., and Maria Saez, 26, of Madison, Conn., both passengers, each face charges of fentanyl trafficking, possession of two or more grams of heroin, providing false information to police and conspiracy; both were lodged at Southern State Correctional Facility and issued criminal citations to appear in court Tuesday, Sept. 15. Police say the driver, Alex Raymond, 20, of Keene, N.H., and a passenger, Wayne Griffis, 67, of Brattleboro, also provided false information. All four occupants were taken to the Westminster barracks for processing. Read more
Davin M. Visconti, 18, of Townshend, turned himself in at the Shaftsbury barracks and was cited on a charge of sexual assault under 13 V.S.A. § 3252(a)(1), stemming from a May 30 incident at the Grout Pond camping area in Stratton that state police say involved a juvenile female. He was released with a citation and was due for arraignment Sept. 15 in Windham criminal court. Read more
Maya Makokha, 20, of Brattleboro, and Haroon Ahmed, 20, of Putney, were each cited for hate-motivated unlawful mischief after police say the pair spray-painted a wall at the Brattleboro Transportation Center overnight on Sept. 10 with racially charged imagery and derogatory messages. Both are scheduled to appear in Windham County Superior Court on Oct. 20. Read more
Windsor: Tiffany Wyman, 37, of Enfield, N.H., was cited on a fugitive from justice charge and a string of drug and false-information counts after troopers contacted her near 212 River Street in Bethel on the afternoon of Sept. 14. Police say Wyman had given false identifying information to Vermont officers on prior occasions and was wanted on an extraditable New Hampshire warrant for theft and drug possession. She was also charged with two counts of false information to a police officer, possession of prescription drugs and two counts of possession of a regulated drug, and was cited to appear in Windsor County Criminal Court on Sept. 15. Read more
Clifton Eaves, 79, of Houston, Texas, was cited for negligent operation and reckless endangerment after police say he drove the wrong way on Interstate 91 south near mile marker 68.4 in Hartford on the morning of Sept. 10 in order to stop and speak with a trooper he had just passed. He is due in Windsor County Superior Court on Oct. 27. Read more
Vermont State Police: Investigators have identified the person of interest in a Sept. 4 road rage incident on VT Route 215 in Cabot, in which state police say an unknown male believed to be armed with a firearm confronted a driver on a public road while operating a grey Chevrolet Silverado with Vermont plates. The Berlin barracks announced the identification on Sept. 11 and said the investigation remains open; no further details were released. Read more
Thirteen of Vermont’s fourteen counties reported verifiable criminal activity this week.
Our thanks go out to the troopers, municipal officers, sheriff’s deputies, dispatchers and federal agents who worked these cases — from a 12:24 a.m. call in Waterbury to a roadside stop on Canal Street to a federal prosecution that took three years to reach sentencing. Much of this work happens at hours and in places nobody volunteers for, and Vermonters are safer for it.
By the numbers
Vermont booked 114 people into Department of Corrections custody or supervision in the seven days of September 8 through 14 — down from 127 the week before. As of the state’s latest update, 814 people are detained in a Vermont facility awaiting trial. Live counts, the daily intake log, and a person lookup are in The Booking Log, which queries the state’s own data directly.