Commentary by Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

Two weeks have passed, and the Springfield (Vermont) Police Department has failed to make any public statement about an interstate kidnapping and possible extortion case that reportedly netted six arrests in town.

No news release. No acknowledgment of the arrests. I can’t even get a commander on the phone to discuss the matter.

It’s no wonder I keep getting phone calls, emails and messages from people wondering why, and what exactly Springfield police are hiding.

Why is the department keeping Springfield taxpayers in the dark about such a dangerous and serious case, one person asked me in one of the latest messages I received late Friday night. The incident might have ended on Randall Hill Road and included some kind of standoff with people inside a house, the tipsters said.

It is believed to be related to a drug theft and may tie into Valley Street, a known drug section of town, one said. Another tipster said the case apparently started in Claremont, N.H. with a woman being held against her will and brought across state lines.

I heard about the crime I believe the day after it happened. The sense was there would be a full SPD news release, so I didn’t bother to chase the story. Police across Vermont like to celebrate when they make six arrests on especially serious charges and give thanks to other police agencies for helping. Who tries to hide that?

Apparently Springfield Police.

A check of the news releases posted by Springfield Police on its website shows no information for January or February about the kidnapping case.

The Springfield Police did proudly provide on its website written news releases for four minor cases in January: violating conditions of release, domestic violence, driving while license suspended.

Same for the Springfield Police Facebook page. Nothing, nada, naught, nil, zip, zilch, zero about the kidnapping and extortion case.

Apparently felony charges of kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping with bodily injury or fear, extortion, aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, are the types of crimes Springfield Police have deemed it should try to hide from taxpayers.

Almost 40 years ago the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that names of people arrested or cited into court are public immediately.

A call Saturday to Springfield Police for information turned up almost nothing. A very professional dispatcher attempted to help but said the question would have to wait until Monday when department brass got back to work. The officer in charge on Saturday could not talk about the case, Vermont News First was told.

At the request of Vermont News First, the dispatcher reached out to the brass to see if Police Chief Jeff Burnham or Lt. Daniel Deslauriers would return a call that evening.

A few minutes later VNF was told there would be no call back. Lt. Deslauriers had apparently decided the news blackout would continue.

Neither the police chief or lieutenant responded to emails from Vermont News First as of Sunday afternoon.

VNF mentioned that the names of those arrested in America are public by law. VNF also reminded the dispatcher that this country was founded in part because people were taken off the streets, jailed and nobody was told.

It was clear the dispatcher knew his U.S. history, but his hands were tied being low man on the totem pole.

I always feel bad for emergency dispatchers, especially when they know they should do the right things but are blocked by commanders or outdated policies. (I actually worked as an emergency dispatcher part-time for a year during my college years. I fully appreciate what they do and what is expected of them in a very stressful job.)

A law enforcement official suggested there might be two reasons for the coverup: Either New Hampshire police might be wanting to claim the original complaint, or the criminal prosecution is going to be taken over by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in one of the two states.

But either way, arrests were made on Vermont soil and are public under the law.

So here is what Vermont News First has been able to piece together this weekend:

Jessenialyz J. Jones, 18, who comes from out of state, is being held without bail at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, prison records show.

Jones is detained for two counts of kidnapping – bodily injury or fear; two counts of kidnapping – ransom; two counts of extortion; one count of aggravated assault with a weapon; and one count of aggravated assault, prison records show.

She was lodged 6 p.m. Monday Jan. 25, prison records show.

Sheldon K. Stocker, 37, a local man, is jailed at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield on charges of kidnapping or forcible confinement and unlawful restraint, jail records show.

Stocker, who is known to Vermont police, also is being held without bail and was lodged about 3:47 p.m. Jan. 25, records show.

Jesse J. Emerson, 46, also is detained at the Southern State Correctional Facility on a charge of kidnapping with bodily injury or fear, records show. He was jailed for lack of $75,000 bail on Thursday Feb. 5 at 2:39 p.m., prison records note.

One person also may have been arrested as a fugitive from justice, but Vermont News First was unable to confirm the arrest was connected to the roundup in Springfield.

The names of the others reportedly taken into custody could not be determined and may have upcoming arraignment dates.

State court records in Vermont are available to the public only during daytime hours on weekdays. However, that could soon change.

The Vermont Legislature is considering making information from court records about criminal arrests available 24/7. Under Vermont law the public can use computers to have access to civil court cases 24/7, but are blocked from any direct access to criminal cases.

The proposed legislation, if approved, would give the public online access 24/7 to state criminal case filings, much like they have in federal court throughout the nation.

As it stands today, Vermonters can access public criminal files only by calling the court during business hours and filing a request with the clerk. The court response for the public can now take up to two days. Vermont legislators were scratching their heads when they recently learned about the inconsistency with civil and criminal records.

Springfield has always been a tough town to police. There has been an ongoing shortage of police officers while the department contends with major drug trafficking, overdoses, shootings and more.

Police Chief Mark Fountain and Lt. Patrick Call, who believed in transparency, left the short-handed department about three years ago. Chief Burnham, who came from New Hampshire, has been trying to rebuild and has made some recent hires, including two recruits who are attending the Vermont Police Academy, law enforcement officials report.

Somewhere along the line training needs to be offered to the Springfield Police Department about U.S. and Vermont transparency laws and also about being consistent when making arrests.

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UPDATE:

Incredible response (online and privately to me) from the public with some more crime details and upset about the police coverup. Town residents clearly not happy.

Somebody in the know about the police investigation provided one more name of a defendant:

Damarcus “Gifted” Bonner, 30, is held at Southern State Correctional Facility for two counts of kidnapping with ransom, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of extortion, one count each of heroin trafficking and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, prison records show.

Bonner is being held without bail and was lodged 4:23 p.m. on Jan. 25, records show.

I’m told Bonner had a companion, but his name for some reason is not showing in the jail register in Vermont. Stay tuned.

A second source said two different women reportedly were held against their will and a heated knife was used to burn at least one of them.

Also learned Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer was called in to offer his assistance to Springfield Police on the case. He was arrested the following Tuesday by Vermont State Police on unrelated charges.