By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First

ST. ALBANS – A Franklin County man with a long history of trying to outrun police has pleaded not guilty to a variety of criminal charges, including attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault on law enforcement by using a truck to drag and drop a Franklin County deputy sheriff on a road in Fairfax on Friday night.

Alexander T. Seagroves, 32, of Fletcher fled the scene on Main Street (Vermont 104) but was later captured by Vermont State Police.  He later told police he had been stopped numerous times in the past by law enforcement, but “I lost count after 30 or 40,” court records show.  Seagroves acknowledged he should comply with law enforcement during traffic stops and refrain from resisting, police said in court papers.

Meanwhile Cpl. Jeffery Barriger, 42, of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department remains in critical but stable condition at the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center.  A spokesman said he sustained serious head, brain and bodily injuries when he landed on the road after being dragged.  Court records also show he has a right eye fracture, blood in both ears, a fracture behind one ear, was vomiting blood and had an epidermal hematoma – a critical pooling of blood by the skull.

Barriger has been a member of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office since March 2024. He joined the department after seven years as a full-time police officer with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, state police spokesman Adam Silverman said.

Vermont Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Novotny agreed on Monday that Seagroves needed to remain in custody because he posed a dangerous threat to the general public.  The longtime judge noted Seagroves has a lengthy criminal record that included several serious attempts to elude law enforcement during motor vehicle chases.

Seagroves said he wasn’t sure he wanted a public defender and said he was willing to try to defend himself against all the charges

Franklin County State’s Attorney Bram Kranichfeld also charged him with felony charges of causing serious bodily injury when trying to elude Cpl. Barriger and gross negligent operation with serious injury.  The fifth charge was a misdemeanor count for driving while his license was suspended for an earlier driving while intoxicated case.

Seagroves pleaded not guilty to those charges also.

Kranichfeld argued that Seagroves needed to be held without bail because of his record.  He noted the defendant was still on probation for an earlier attempt to elude police.

Judge Novotny agreed Seagroves should be held without bail on the attempted murder and aggravated assault charges. 

“Our heart goes out to the deputy sheriff and his family.  This case is a reminder that law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way for us every day.  Our office will make sure that we hold him accountable for his actions,” Kranichfeld said.

There was a large contingent of active law enforcement officers from St. Albans, Swanton and state police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department at the courthouse.  Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore, who was in Florida when the incident happened last week, zoomed into the court arraignment on Monday afternoon.

Records show Seagroves also had two pending arrest warrants for blowing off judges in Chittenden and Franklin Counties, police said.  One was in Burlington for failure to appear for a pre-trial conference for a DUI charge on Oct. 7, 2024.  The other was failure to appear in St. Albans on Nov. 26, 2024 for a violation of new probation case involving a previous eluding police, negligent operation and a separate violation of probation, police said.  Records show bail was $200 for the career criminal.

Detective Sgt. Joshua Lewis of the VSP Major Crime Unit said he had a chance to review the video from  body camera worn by Cpl. Barriger and speak to police officers that responded to the crime scene.  Lewis said Barriger had stopped Seagroves initially for driving 66 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone on Main Street near Sam Webb Road.     

Seagroves, after the initial traffic stop, started to move his silver Chevrolet Silverado and Barriger approached him and told him to stop, turn off the engine and get out of the truck, Lewis said.  Seagroves reportedly said he was in fear for his life, but gave np explanation, police said.  Instead he kept  driving and Barriger took ahold of the driver’s front door.

The truck sped off and while Barriger was still hanging on, Seagroves braked abruptly, sending the deputy head first into the pavement and sped off, police said.

Joshua Vanclette, who witnessed the officer being dragged, came to the aid of the fallen officer and called 911, Lewis said.

Fairfax Rescue took the deputy to the UVM Medical Center, a Level 1 Trauma Center. He underwent major medical evaluation for serious head/brain and other bodily injuries.

State police determined Seagroves had a local address on Hemlock Road in Fletcher.

St. Albans Police Sgt. Zach Koch, one of the first officers on the scene, told later arriving state troopers that the deputy had significant injuries from being dragged, Lewis said.  The troopers headed to the Hemlock Road address and located the four-door Chevrolet Silverado, but the two license plates were missing, Lewis said.

State Troopers used a public address system on a police cruiser to order people out of the home.  Two women, Bernadette Cushing, 76, and Bernadette Paquette, 56, along with Seagroves came out and he was put into handcuffs, Lewis said.  The women reported Seagroves never said anything was amiss that night, Lewis said.

When he was asked by police what happened, Seagroves claimed he was in fear for his life and would not comment any further until he had a lawyer, Lewis said.   Later at the state police barracks in St. Albans he granted a full interview, police said.

Seagroves said Barriger jumped onto the running board and thought he had put them both in danger, police said.  The deputy reached in to try to take the keys out of the ignition, but Seagroves told him to get out of the vehicle, Lewis said.   Seagroves maintained Barriger “jumped back,” police said.  Seagroves then turned the wheel and applied the brakes.  Seagroves said Barriger fell into the roadway, Lewis wrote.

Seagroves said because police had drawn their firearms when he tried to outrun them in previous traffic stops, he was not comfortable with Cpl. Barriger.

Seagroves has a lengthy criminal record. The Times Argus newspaper in Barre reported in April 2024 that Seagroves was sentenced for two high-speed pursuits trying to avoid police in Chittenden and Washington County. At the time of the chases, he was living in Essex and was on probation for a third pursuit in Franklin County, the newspaper said.

The incident comes just seven weeks after a Grand Isle County deputy sheriff was dragged by an upset motorist following a traffic stop on U.S. 2 in South Hero. Sgt. Nicholas Pillsbury remains on medical leave and is facing possible surgery and other procedures.