A Barre man wanted for drug trafficking and failure to appear has been jailed after he lost a car chase to Windsor County Sheriff’s deputies. 

Sheriff Ryan Palmer said that on Friday, October 4 the department was conducting an operation in Bethel targeting areas affected by drug trafficking. At about 4 PM, Sgt. Beraldi tried to stop a red Pontiac near North Main Street. 

The vehicle refused to stop. A brief pursuit ensued. Due the reckless driving of the Pontiac the pursuit was discontinued. Dep. Jackson Howe was able to reengage when the vehicle circled back. The operator – Corey Couture, 42, of Barre – almost struck Lt. Leonard’s vehicle but was ultimately forced to stop on Christian Hill. 

Couture took off on foot. Deputy Howe gave chase and apprehended Couture. Howe sustained minor injuries and Couture requested medical attention, he was transported by ambulance to Gifford Medical Center and finally to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. 

A female passenger was in the car with Couture. The vehicle was seized, and a search warrant will be applied for due to suspected narcotics in the vehicle. Couture is being lodged on multiple warrants at SSCF and is facing a slew of new charges related to this incident, including:

• Gross Negligent Operation x2 
• Reckless Endangerment x2
• Attempting to Elude, Neg Op x2
• False reports to Law Enforcement 
• Resisting arrest

Swerves to miss animal – Laurie McDonald, 62, of Boca Raton Florida suffered minor injuries when the pickup truck she was driving swerved to miss an animal on Swift St. in Charlotte Sunday afternoon, October 6.

Vermont State Police say they found the vehicle in a position of uncontrolled rest, entangled with a telephone pole and blocking the highway near the Woodland Way intersection.