By Michael Donoghue
Islander Staff Writer

A version of this story appeared in The Islander this week

The man charged with trying to kill a Grand Isle County deputy sheriff by running him over with a car in March has been released on bail.

Kevin J. Marx, 36, of Grand Isle was freed from the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town late Friday afternoon after a  $100,000 bank check was posted, court records show.

His mother, Susan Marx of Burlington also agreed to take custody of Marx, who is expected to live with her at her condo at 33 North Avenue, officials said.  Susan Marx is under a judge’s order to report any violations of bail conditions or she could face contempt of court, records show

Kevin Marx was denied a straight request for home detention on June 4.  The cash bail was posted 8 days later.

Besides the bail, Vermont Superior Court Judge Navah C. Spero had told Kevin Marx that if he was released he needed to comply with a 24/7 curfew except for attending medical and legal appointments, or a job approved by the court.

Judge Spero also told Kevin Marx he must refrain from driving a motor vehicle and shall not have any kind of contact with Sgt. Nicholas Pillsbury of the sheriff’s department, the person he is accused of trying to kill.

Marx mysteriously dropped off the Vermont Jail Tracker system, which shows the public when people are detained or released.

Greg Hale, prison superintendent at the St. Albans facility, confirmed to Vermont News First this week that Marx was no longer detained.

Hale could offer no explanation why the public was unable to find Marx in Jail Tracker, but acknowledged the new state locator system has seen its share of problems since it was installed earlier this year.  

A spokesman for Vermont Corrections Commissioner Jon Murad did not respond Tuesday to an inquiry about the ongoing problems with the faulty system.

Marx has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of attempted first degree murder of Sgt. Pillsbury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (car).  Marx also denied a misdemeanor count of gross negligent operation of a vehicle.

Marx has recently retained Burlington attorney Brooks G. McArthur, one of the top defense lawyers in Vermont and a former state prosecutor.

Grand Isle County Sheriff Ray Allen said on Tuesday that Pillsbury continues to make progress at possibly returning to work.  He has a target return date of August, but Allen said it was unknown if that would be light duty or full duty.

Pillsbury, who also is a member of the South Hero Volunteer Fire Department, had recent shoulder surgery and has more medical procedures in the future, Allen said.  Pillsbury needs physical therapy, he said.

Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito initially asked that Marx be held without bail due to the serious nature of the three criminal charges.

After a March 26 court hearing, Judge Spero later ruled on April 7 that Marx was entitled to possible release and set the bail at $250,000 with various conditions.  She later agreed at a court hearing to drop the bail to $100,000.

DiSabito said he still had serious concerns about home detention because Marx, while he has no known criminal record, may wish to flee due to the serious nature of the crimes and potential penalties. 

DiSabito said based on the allegations, the state was deeply concerned about the safety to the public and the possible risk of flight in light of Marx running over the deputy sheriff and fleeing.

Marx fled about 2 or 3 miles on foot to his apartment in the nearby town of Grand Isle where he was found by state police and the Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department.  He initially refused to come out of his residence, but eventually surrendered to Sgt. John Bruzzi, police said. 

Pillsbury reported that he has stopped Marx on March 4 after recording him on a dash-cam video running a stop sign on Ferry Road and turning onto U.S. 2 in South Hero.  Marx was agitated during the traffic stop claiming Pillsbury was trying to ruin the driver’s life, records show.

Pillsbury showed Marx the video and he became more rude and began a string of profanity-filled name-calling lines at the deputy, records show.  Pillsbury explained without the profanity. Marx was only going to a warning, but now he deserved a ticket. 

Pillsbury, in an effort to deescalate the situation, opted to end the traffic stop and planned to mail, the civil ticket to Marx, records show.  As Pillsbury walked back to his marked cruiser, Marx made a U-turn, ran into the officer and dragged him under his car across a nearby lawn, state police said. 

It took seven seconds between starting the U-turn and hitting Pillsbury, the judge said in reviewing the video.  She said Marx drove his green Subaru Forester, with Pillsbury pinned underneath, for about 80 feet across the grass before stopping.

Car records show the car’s speed increased from 8 miles per hour to 26 mph while Pillsbury was still underneath it, Spero wrote.  In talking with Sheriff Allen, Pillsbury said he thought Marx had tried to kill him, Spero noted.

The judge wrote that Sgt. Christopher Hein, head of the Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team, had opined that Marx had shown a “wanton disregard for human life.”