By Mike Donoghue

BURLINGTON — A Connecticut man, who authorities say is a prime suspect in the fatal shooting of one man in Rutland and the wounding of the second man at a city apartment in September, has pleaded not guilty in federal court to a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition the day of the homicide.

Bayohan Mangual, 38, of New Britain, Conn. appeared briefly in U.S. District Court on Monday to deny the single charge of possessing both Speer and Winchester ammunition for a 9×19-mm firearm on Sept. 2, the indictment said.

Based on the recovery locations of the spent shell casings after the shooting at 50 Cherry Street, investigators believe all the shots were fired by one person staying inside the small second floor bedroom, federal court papers note.

Mangual, who also is known by his street names “Drake” and “J,” fled the scene, officials  said.

Santoniero K. Miller, 35, of Albany was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds, Rutland Police said.  A companion was seriously wounded from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said at the time it appeared to be a targeted shooting. 

The federal arrest stems from an elaborate 2 ½ month interstate investigation led by Rutland City Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in Rutland.

Rutland Detective Cpl. Adam Lucia, who is part of the HSI task force, arrested Mangual in New Britain, Conn. on the federal charge in mid-November and Monday marked the defendant’s first appearance in a courtroom in Vermont in the case.

Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford agreed,  based on earlier findings by the federal court in Connecticut, to keep Mangual in custody pending further proceedings.

Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Connecticut had ruled on Nov. 17 that Mangual’s prior criminal history, the weight of the evidence, the possible long sentence, if convicted, and the defendant’s past violations of probation, parole or court supervision, including committing crimes, were reason enough to detain him.

New court documents outlined Mangual’s possible involvement in the Rutland shootings and his past criminal record.  Mangual was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison in 2014 after pleading guilty to a felony crack cocaine case and got 33 more months in 2017 for another violation involving felony crack cocaine, records show.

In Connecticut state court, Mangual has a 2008 felony conviction for carrying a firearm without a license and in Pennsylvania he was convicted for a misdemeanor drug count, records show.

Rutland Police said officers responded to 50 Cherry Street about 3:52 p.m. for a call of a man being beaten, but they found a man with gunshot wounds outside the residence, Detective Tyler Billings said in an affidavit.

Rutland Police said neighbors reported four people fled the apartment after the incident.  They also reported a white man pushing a white woman in a wheelchair out of the residence, police said.

A white Chevrolet Malibu with New York license plates was found outside the apartment and it had been rented by Miller at Albany International Airport on Aug. 29, police said.

The Vermont State Police Crime Scene Search Team said it was apparent that the shots had not been fired from outside the bedroom and into the bedroom, court records show.

Investigators determined Mangual “discharged all of the expended rounds, and that the shooter (Mangual) fled the residence,” Billings said in a 23-page affidavit.

Surveillance footage collected by police from the area uncovered video of at least four people running from the scene about 3:47 p.m. and at least 3 were quickly identified by police, records show. 

Within 2 days of the shooting, police had learned the shooter was a drug dealer known as “Drake,” police said. 

The Vermont Drug Task Force had made at least one crack cocaine buy from “Drake” on Jan. 5 as part of a trafficking investigation, police said       

The residence at 50 Cherry Street is well known to Rutland Police, especially for narcotics activity.  Police had conducted a court-ordered search on Jan. 13 as part of a drug investigation, records show.  

Rutland Police and HSI eventually traced Mangual to New Britain, Conn. and with help from Connecticut State Police conducted a court-ordered search of his residence at 121 Barnes Street, a two-story single-family residence.

Rutland Police filed for a search warrant for the contents of a cellphone that belongs to Mangual and was seized at the New Britain residence, records show.

In the affidavit to the judge, police said they are looking for evidence of crimes by Mangual, including being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and the actual trafficking, and for possessing and discharging a firearm to help further drug trafficking.