By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
A state legislator from Bennington was arrested outside the Vermont Statehouse on Wednesday morning on a charge of driving while under the influence, Montpelier Police said.
Police said Rep. James Carroll, D-Bennington was stopped as he pulled his car into a state parking lot at the so-called Pink Lady, a historic multi-story building which serves as the home for the Joint Fiscal Affairs Office at 1 Baldwin Street.
After processing Carroll, city police said they ordered him to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Barre at 8:30 a.m. March 7 on the DUI charge.
Carroll will not be contesting the criminal charge, according to Rep. Kathleen James, D-Manchester, the assistant majority leader.
Carroll provided the following public statement through James:
“I have been and remain dedicated to the people of Bennington. I know I have disappointed people and disappointed myself,” Carroll’s statement said.
“I want to get better, and I’m going to take active steps to do that. I am grateful to everyone for giving me the time and support I need,” it said.
Montpelier Police Chief Eric Nordenson said the results of the breath test will be available at Carroll’s court arraignment. Under Vermont law, adults are presumed to be under the influence at 0.08 percent.
Carroll, who also has been a Bennington selectboard member since 2012, is in a contested race for a 3-year seat on Town Meeting Day next month.
Carroll, 62, drew the attention of Patrol Sgt. Chris Quesnel because of a loud muffler about 8:24 a.m., Nordenson reported.
Quesnel heard a loud defective muffler as a car passed him near the former U.S. Post Office on East State Street, police said. The officer followed the car, which did not have Vermont legislative plates, to 1 Baldwin Street where Quesnel spoke to the driver, police said.
During the investigative stop, Quesnel developed suspicion about possible alcohol impairment, police said. Carroll declined to undergo standardized field sobriety exercises, but agreed to submit a roadside breath test. The non-evidentiary test was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.
Carroll was later brought to the Montpelier Police Station, where he was formally processed for suspected DUI, the chief said.
Quesnel said Carroll was brought back to 1 Baldwin Street when released about 10 a.m. Carroll received a written warning for defective equipment for the loud muffler, the chief said.
Carroll was seen later in the day in the Statehouse. He made a stop at the office of House Speaker Jill Krowinski and was seen walking out with Rep. Dane Whitman, D-Bennington.
Carroll serves on the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee. Carroll also served a term in the House from 2019-2020. He returned in 2023 after ousting Rep. Michael Nigro, D-Bennington, who had bumped Carroll out of the House two years earlier.
The Bennington native is a 1980 graduate of Mount Anthony Union High School and received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and English literature from Southern Vermont College.
Carroll’s legislative biography notes he has been self-employed throughout his working life.
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Categories: Crime
Catch and Release back to the Legislature…Connect the dots folks.
Catch and Release back to the Legislature…any connection to be made here?
Drunk at 8:30am?! Wow! I knew there had to be a rational reason for them coming up with all these ridiculous bills.
Driving drunk at 8 am?? Wow.
Maybe he was just gettin’ in… coulda been so intoxicated last night that it still showed up at 8:00 AM.
Could it have been the “hair of the dog” after a hard night at the booze?
No joke, a guy I used to work with got a DUI on his way to work from drinking the night before.
If he loses his license (doubtful), he can use the public transportation the climatards are always talking about. I wonder what time the bus leaves from Bennington to Montpeculiar.
Let the claims of “victimhood” begin for this sufferer of substance abuse disorder… Drunk at 8:30 am…wow! Must be his “cry for help”.
Will he claim he only had one glass of wine with breakfast or was he kneewalking drunk the evening before? Did he get a ticket for defective equipment, or was “democrat privilege” invoked? Who votes for these people?
Back in the day, when the Thrush Tavern, was the unofficial State House, if the police were so inclined, which they were not, this would have been a common occurrence, but not early in the morning.
Back in those days, I think more state business was hashed out in the Thrush, than in the Statehouse…or so it seemed.
It was a pretty good watering hole.
Every state capital should have a Thrush next to the state house, where both parties, the lobbyists, along with the press, can gather, imbibe and hash out a compromise, that benefits all parties and the citizens, like Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil did over cigars, and cocktails, back in the day, for the betterment of the country.
We need to get back to those ways, as that is what our country was built on, compromise for the public good, and not this blinder wearing bunch, who shout Nazi, or racist, at those who disagree with them.
Back when our leaders were adult…
Unfortunately there is only one road back to those ways…and it’s not via the voting booth!
Should have been driving an electric….now there’s a good argument for EV’s……no muffla!!!
Some poor cop is in trouble. It’s supposed to be hands-off the kommandants! Kathleen James, a community organizer, will ensure the proper procedure is adhered to in the future.
what dumb … would drive drunk with a loud muffler/// should took the booze money and fixed his muffler/// do you suppose he used his food allowance to buy his booze/// should check his food account///
I would be more interested in his voting record.
He’s a Commiecrat we all know his voting record, it’s called lock-step voting.
He votes the way Speaker Krowinski tells him to…it’s so much easier than thinking for himself and ascertaining his constituents’ views.
I guess being drunk at 8:00 am he must have a ton of legislative issues on his mind, oh wait, he’s a DemocRAT he only has to follow the game plan.
This is what we have running the state, but don’t worry all’s fine, he’s a DemocRAT
they’ll forgive & forget……….. how pathetic !!
Here’s a suggestion: Leave him alone to get the treatment he needs. He’s been public about his condition and his desire to fix it. So let him try, and hope he succeeds. What he does not need is the rest of us piling on.
A DUI is not necessarily a sign of a chronic abuse problem. It can be a one-time thing, like on New Years or post-Super Bowl. Being a democrat, we can expect excuses and a cry of victimhood though, as that is a resume enhancement for a liberal. And as far as “piling on”?…let’s keep in mind that this guy makes the rules for the rest of us, including the laws regarding alcohol and highways…so there is the hypocrisy issue at play…rules for thee but not for me. Same goes for that democrat prosecutor in Addison County (the top law enforcement officer in the jurisdiction) who would not even cooperate in the booking process, and has NOT been suspended. If a small town police officer had done the same, would be suspended for sure.
Vermont State’s Atty is an elected position, there is no suspension provision. ms. vekos the Addison Cty. State Attorney accused of DWI refusal can only be impeached. The Addison County Bar Assn. is calling on ms. vekos to resign, but there is no requirement to do so- other that her resignation would be the appropriate and proper action. One might think ms. charity clark, VT AG would support ms. vekos resignation, but seems not. Regardless, ms. vekos subsequent actions and emails to Addison County police agencies definitely raise serious questions of her ability to continue in her position.
These are two distinctly different situations, as vekos refused the lawfully required sobriety tests and is charged not with DUI, but DUI Refusal.
Your right Rich, it is post Super Bowl. He is still mourning his betting on the 49ers.
Respectfully Mr. Koch,
He is a public servant who ran for office on the promise of his character and abilities. He made himself a public figure. This is what goes with it.
Do you have any idea of how many of our legislators cannot live up to the oath they swore or affirmed? I know my own Representative is usually stoned. It’s how he manages his anxiety.
These people made promises to us, their constituents. They have not only broken their promises but have failed to live up to their oath/affirmation and sit in the formerly esteemed establishment of our State government, making laws for the remainder of us to abide and pay for with the sweat of our brow. And they do it impaired. Or distracted, and most certainly ill-informed or completely ignorant of what the full understanding of the piece of legislation is at hand. My own Representative cannot even figure out how much it costs him to drive his Prius to the State house and how to determine the costs of tires, oil changes etc., prorated over time. Simple stuff.
So, Mr. Carroll has a tough row to hoe. And I do wish him the support he will need. But I will not go easy on him. He failed, he has to atone for this failure not only to his constituents but to his colleagues and the citizens of this state.
He only became “public” about his condition and his “desire to fix it” when he was caught. That is not a marker of someone with good character.
Pam Baker
Thanks Pam for your acknowledgement that our legislators are human and like all of us have failings…but that they also are Constitutionally Sworn in their lawmaking capacity to do good for the people and live by the laws they impose on the rest of us. Personal responsibility is a concept and philosophy that is fading from Vermont society as it trends further leftward…NOT a good thing.
any one check for previous drunk driving tickets/// it should take you about five minutes to find out/// call the bennington cops///
I’m left wondering if the the LEO would have followed up with him had he been in a car with a legislator plate.
On the bright side for at least 1 hour he wasn’t voting to raise our taxes
there may be hope that some cops in montpelier are getting sick of watching that dog and pony show going on in the state house//// the problem is they keep taking their pay check when the govie shut the state down/// this makes this a r. i.. c. o. mafia case and were are looking at total state corruption/// send in the drug dogs///
Days of Haman “Haman had the king’s ears and dined at the king’s table. He threw lavish parties and gathered men and women of like minds. Haman was drunk with self-ego; he surrounded himself with sycophants, hypocrites, and ‘yes sir’ acquaintances. The truth made Haman a sad man, and he preferred lies rather than the truth.”
What happened to Haman? “Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. On returning, he found Haman “falling on the couch where Esther was.” The king mistook Haman’s frantic pleas for mercy as an attack upon the queen. The outraged king ordered that Haman be hanged and that Mordecai be named to his position.”
Their days are numbered – they shall stumble and fall into the abyss from which they came. Declared and decreed! God Wins!
LOL, this is just the beginning for Mr. Carroll. Too bad Guy Page was never interested in the real stories, we have been giving him all the evidence for years. The ONLY reason Jimmy Jo got this ticket was because he was driving with no license plates… otherwise the police would have seen the “house” plate and he would have gotten away with it. MAYBE, if YOU ask nice; Guy Page would be interested in writing a story about the embezzlement and money laundering, the matching EIN numbers, fraudulent PPP loans or the HUMAN TRAFFICKING going on in Bennington and across VT State?? I have tried on multiple occasions, yet we still do not get a story. I’M A CANDIDATE FOR VT GOVERNOR with a WARRANT after they CUT MY BREAKLINES, but Guy is just NOT interested from my perspective. Maybe you all can ask him WHY?
https://rumble.com/v4384tt-18.rico-rick-v-vt-house-rep-jim-carroll.html
kevin hoyt/// have heard about the problems in bennington before/// r. i. c. o. /// where have i heard that before/// interesting video/// must be a conspiracy/// driving with a bad muffler///