Both Springfield, MA men shot outside of a Brookfield home Friday have a history of fentanyl trafficking arrests, according to a 2019 Vermont State Police report.
Juan Sierra, 27, died of a gunshot wound to the torso, and the death was ruled a homicide, authorities say. Miguel Fuentes, 29, remains hospitalized at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in critical condition with gunshot wounds.
State police say preliminary investigation indicates the two men are friends who traveled together to Vermont and were shot outside the home at 8769 Vermont Route 14. Sierra died at the scene, while Fuentes was able to drive off before being assisted by a passerby several miles away. State police detectives believe this was an isolated incident, and there is no general threat to the community.
In August 2019, both Sierra and Fuentes were arrested along with a third Springfield MA resident, Luis Martinez, on charges of trafficking fentanyl into the state. Troopers pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 91 for speeding. After developing “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity,” troopers searched the vehicle and found 220 milligrams of fentanyl.
Springfield, MA is a well-established drug-trafficking hub on the corridor from the Mexican border, where most fentanyl enters the U.S., to New England.
Detectives continue to interview witnesses about Friday’s shooting. No arrests have been made. The Vermont State Police has been working closely with the Orange County State’s Attorney’s Office and has received assistance from the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife and from police departments in Barre City and Randolph. Police continue to ask that anyone with information that could assist in the investigation call VSP in Royalton at 802-234-9933.