Second case by Justice Department in as many months
By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First
BURLINGTON — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont filed a formal notice last month in federal court that it plans to seek the death penalty for Theodore “Theo” Bland of Burlington if he is convicted of killing two out-of-state drug dealers in the Northeast Kingdom in 2023.
The notice came as a federal grand jury returned a new 8-count indictment Tuesday against Bland that paves the way for the possible death penalty.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Turner had said in open court in October that the Department of Justice had given the green light to seek the death penalty and that a new indictment would be sought. The new indictment was needed to cover the requirements that would allow for the death penalty, if Bland is convicted, he said.
Bland, 30, formerly of Stowe, had pleaded not guilty earlier to multiple federal charges, including gunning down the two out-of-state drug dealers at a home in Lowell on Oct. 12, 2023.
The bodies of Jahim “Debo” Solomon, 21, of Pittsfield, Mass. and Eric “E” White, 21, of Chicopee, Mass., were found about two weeks later in the town of Eden in nearby Lamoille County about a mile apart.
The new indictment includes five gun charges, including the two counts for fatally shooting the Massachusetts men. Two counts maintain Bland was carrying guns while trafficking drugs between Sept. 7 and Oct. 15, 2023, the indictment said.
Bland is also charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and fentanyl on Oct. 12 and 14, 2023. He is also charged with conspiring with Justin Douglass and others to distribute crack cocaine and fentanyl between Sept. 7 and Oct. 15, 2023.
Douglass, who is known as “J.D.,” 37, of Hardwick, had pleaded not guilty to an earlier indictment for drug conspiracy.
Vermont News First initially reported in December 2023 that Bland was the main person of interest in the double homicide. The story, which appeared in multiple newspapers in Vermont and Massachusetts, was based on Vermont News First’s own investigation, interviews and court records.
Turner, in his notice for the death penalty, wrote that the government is prepared to show several intent factors justifying the death penalty. They include Bland intentionally killing the victims and intentionally inflicting serious bodily injury that resulted in their deaths.
The notice also said Bland intentionally participated in an act that contemplated the life of at least one person would be taken or that lethal force would be used.
Turner also noted that among the aggravating factors is Bland’s criminal record for using a firearm in the past.
Senior Federal Judge William K. Sessions III had said during the October hearing that if a new indictment was obtained, the court would need to schedule an arraignment.
Sessions also set Feb. 23 for the next status conference in the Bland case.
Bland comes from a well-known Stowe family, including his father, Richard Bland, a lawyer and former member of the town school board.
The double homicide is part of a complex interstate drug trafficking ring. At least eight people have been charged in U.S. District Court as part of the case investigated by the Vermont Drug Task Force, State and Morristown Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Other, less involved people have been charged in state court.
Vermont now has two federal death penalty cases that have been approved by Attorney General Bondi and the Justice Department in just 2½ months.
In the other case, Teresa C. Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, Wash., is charged with fatally shooting an on-duty U.S. Border Patrol Agent about 3:15 p.m. Jan. 20, also in the Northeast Kingdom. Youngblut is a member of a radical cult group, officials said.
The indictment also charges her with shooting at two other U.S. Border Patrol Agents, identified only as “J.M.” and “D. W.” The final two counts of her indictment concern Youngblut discharging the 40-caliber Glock and with possessing and discharging the firearm during a murder, records show.
Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland of Newport ordered a 2015 Toyota Prius that was registered in North Carolina to pull over for an immigration stop about nine miles south of the Canadian border on Jan. 20.
Officials maintain that Youngblut, without notice or provocation, opened fire, killing the veteran agent, who never got a shot off. He was struck in the neck with one of two shots.
Her passenger, Felix Bauckholt, 28, a German national, was killed in the shootout as he reached for his gun, officials said. Youngblut was wounded and hospitalized for about a week before she was brought to federal court. She remains detained in federal custody.
Youngblut is believed to be a member of the Zizians, a group that has been linked to at least six killings across three states, officials have said. They said it is led by Jack LaSota, a transgender woman known as Ziz.
Republican President Donald J. Trump, who was inaugurated to a second term on Jan. 20, had told Attorney General Bondi that he wanted more use of the death penalty in serious drug cases.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had called for a halt in capital cases.
The double shooting on Oct. 12, 2023, happened at a mobile home at 497 Eden Road in Lowell, although some witnesses claimed the trailer was in the town of Albany, officials said. It was the residence of Donald “D.J.” Billow, police said.
Investigators reported Billow noted it was his grandmother’s residence. Billow also knew two “plugs” — street talk for drug dealers or suppliers — were staying at the trailer, police said. They were believed to be White and Solomon, who were initially staying at an Airbnb in Stowe.
On the day of the shooting, Billow said he only got into the kitchen when he saw Bland “going crazy and running around with a firearm. Billow advised he observed ‘Theo’ shooting the gun down the hallway at the door to the bedroom,” court records note.