By VDC staff

An Essex Superior Court jury on Friday found a Lunenburg man guilty in a violent domestic incident following a three-day moonshine binge that escalated into an escape involving a law enforcement vehicle.

According to a report this week in the Caledonian-Record, Jeremy Way, 54, was convicted of multiple offenses stemming from a March 2023 confrontation in which prosecutors said he threatened his adult stepson with a machete and later fled police custody in a sheriff’s cruiser after slipping free of his handcuffs. 

The jury returned guilty verdicts on three felony counts of aggravated domestic assault with a weapon, escape from lawful custody, and aggravated operation of a vehicle without the owner’s consent. Way was also convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence.

According to Vincent Illuzzi, Essex County state’s attorney, the court has ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be conducted by the Department of Corrections in St. Johnsbury. As part of that process, the victim, Joseph Lindvall, is expected to submit a victim impact statement. Sentencing is anticipated in the coming months.

Authorities estimate that damage to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicle exceeded $7,000.

The charges arose from an incident on the afternoon of March 24, 2023, at a residence on River Road in Lunenburg. Investigators said Way, who had been drinking heavily for several days and consuming large quantities of moonshine, brandished a machete with a blade measuring approximately 15 inches and threatened to kill Lindvall.

Lindvall, 34, told law enforcement that Way had spent the night before sharpening the machete and had grown increasingly intoxicated and aggressive. In an arrest affidavit, Essex County Sheriff Trevor Colby wrote that Lindvall reported Way repeatedly threatened to decapitate him and attempted to attack him inside the home by swinging the weapon.

Police also interviewed Lindvall’s mother, Gwendolyn Ayer, who was Way’s domestic partner at the time. She told officers that Way had been drinking continuously for three days, shouting at members of the household, and had shoved her into a wall while threatening her with the machete.

Following Way’s arrest, authorities said he managed to escape custody and drive off in a sheriff’s patrol vehicle, leading to additional charges that were included in Friday’s verdict.