Category: Crime

States weigh ban on ransomware payoffs

At least three states—New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania—are considering legislation that would ban state and local government agencies from paying ransom if they’re attacked by cybercriminals. A bill in the Vermont Legislature would study possible ransomware prevention and enforcement measures.

ER Doc pleads guilty to child porn

A hospital employee discovered a camera hidden in a unisex employee bathroom in the Emergency Department. Investigators with the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (CUSI) recovered the camera and discovered about 1,300 videos on the camera.

Truck stuck in Smugglers Notch (again)

Sunday at 2:30 pm, State Police received a call of a tractor trailer unit stuck at Smuggler’s Notch on route 108 in the town of Cambridge. The operator of vehicle, Kyle Shepherd, ignored and passed several clearly posted signs advising that tractor trailer units are not permitted.

Sentencing for 2015 Westford shooting

Friday May 28 the Federal sentencing hearing for Veronica Lewis, who shot Darryl Montague in Westford on June 29, 2015, was held in the Federal District Court in Burlington. Lewis participated remotely during the ZOOM broadcast. The state sentencing hearing is taking place at this moment.

Septic truck thief found in church

At about 6:37 pm Friday, May 21, the Vermont State Police received a report of a stolen Silloway Septic Truck from a location on East Randolph Road in Chelsea, Orange County. Police say an investigation located the vehicle in East Randolph and developed probable cause to arrest Kevin Bent, 32, on suspicion of using the vehicle without consent of the owner.

Heroin, meth dealer busted

The arrest of Poole was the conclusion of a Vermont Drug Task Force investigation that began in July 2020 in cooperation with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and South Burlington Police Department. The investigation revealed that Poole sold methamphetamine and heroin.

Ex-boyfriend torched car

Upon arrival troopers met with the Fairfax Fire Department and observed a vehicle in the driveway that had sustained fire damage from what appeared to be a plastic bottle containing gasoline that had been poured on the windshield and hood before being ignited.

Trailblazer cop Jonas to retire

Her list of superlatives is considerable: Jonas was the first commander of the Office of Fair & Impartial Policing and Community Affairs when it was established in 2016. She was the first woman in the Vermont State Police to lead the Internal Investigations Unit. And she was the first woman in the agency to attain the ranks of captain and major.

Barre Police “continue to exhaust all investigative avenues” to find Jean-Marie

Yesterday, Vermont Daily published a news story about the Burlington Police Commission urging the Barre Police Department to involve the FBI in the investigation of the year-long disappearance of a black man. The proposed resolution was couched in terms of doing more to provide justice for Vermont’s BIPOC community. Today, Barre Police Chief Tim Bombardier provided the following press release (issued April 13), in which he says “the Barre City Police have continued to exhaust all investigative avenues in our attempts to locate Ralph and to identify the individual(s) responsible for his disappearance.” He is considering a response to the Burlington Police Commission.