By Mike Donoghue

Vermont News First

An illegal immigrant from Kingston, Jamaica that South Burlington Police say shot a man outside a Dorset Street bookstore in June has been ordered jailed without bail on federal gun charges.

Michael A. Wilson, 24, of Burlington appeared in federal court to face a criminal complaint this week for possession of a firearm while being an alien unlawfully present in the United States, records show. 

The move came after the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office withdrew its request that Wilson be held without bail, for state charges, including attempted second-degree murder for the shooting outside the Barnes & Noble store at 102 Dorset Street, officials said.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on hand to take custody of Wilson this week after the scheduled weight of the evidence hearing in the state case did not go forward, officials said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle subsequently ordered Wilson detained in federal court both as a danger to the community and a risk to flee.

“The defendant’s possession and use of the firearm was exceedingly violent and dangerous.  It directly harmed the shooting victim, and it clearly presented a great risk of harm to the public at large,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Gilman wrote in his detention motion. 

“The defendant has a strong motive to flee to avoid multiple criminal prosecutions related to the shooting and his possession of the firearm,” Gilman wrote.

Richardo Wright, 32, received a gunshot wound to the right shoulder and was taken to the UVM Medical Center, police said. Wright, formerly of Middlebury, has been living in the South Burlington area, police said.

South Burlington Police found seven shell casings from a Glock 19X 9-mm in the parking lot after the shooting about 11:40 AM June 28.

The shooting followed a confrontation at a Burlington bar, Red Square on Church Street, between Wilson and the victim over a mutual female friend about 2 AM that morning, the investigation revealed.

Wilson got angry and left the bar, but returned with a firearm that he brandished, the  investigation showed. The bouncers at Red Square confirmed the incident and a Burlington Police officer got video of Wilson, records show.

“It was two men with a beef,” Detective Sgt. David MacDonough had said after the shooting.

Several callers to 911 reported multiple gunshots were fired about 11:40 AM by the gunman, who was described as a black man wearing a black t-shirt and a black bucket cap. He tucked the gun into his waistband and fled, investigators said.

Wright made it to Market Street near the South Burlington City Hall and Library where South Burlington Fire and Rescue provided life-saving aid to him and later transported him to the hospital.

Wilson is a Jamaican native and overstayed a 6-month visitor visa in 2023, records note. He had reportedly booked a flight to leave for Kingston, Jamaica in July 2023, but never got on the plane.

The ATF determined that the handgun used in the shooting had been obtained by a woman in October 2024 and given to Wilson as a birthday present, records note.

The gun buyer claimed she was unaware that as a foreign visitor that Wilson could not legally possess a firearm, the ATF said.

South Burlington Police found gun evidence, a Jamaican passport and more evidence during a search of a hotel room that Wilson had been renting recently at the nearby Anchorage Inn on Dorset Street.

ATF Agents developed an investigative lead that Wilson had fled to Connecticut after the shooting. Before he fled, Wilson had a female friend buy him more ammunition about 1 PM at a Williston gun store. Police said he was believed armed and dangerous.

Wilson was arrested a few days later in North Hartford, Conn., police said.

By overstaying his visa, Wilson had no legal status in the United States when he possessed the firearm he used in the shooting, the ATF said.

“This federal prosecution is an example of the vigilance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, working closely with the United States Border Patrol, to protect the public by enforcing federal firearms laws that prohibit the possession of firearms by foreign nationals who are here unlawfully,” Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher said. 

If convicted, Wilson faces up to 15 years in prison.

In addition to ATF and Border Patrol, Drescher praised the efforts of South Burlington and Winooski Police and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Departmen; and, the Windsor, CT police, which helped apprehended Wilson.

Drescher said the federal case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that pulls together the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, to repel the invasion of illegal immigration and to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).