Following further investigation, the Vermont State Police on Friday evening, Oct. 29, arrested Darryl Johnson, 48, of Greensboro on suspicion of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Robert Chaplin, 27, of East Hardwick.

The series of events that led to the shooting began at about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, at Hardwick Convenience and Deli on Route 15 in Hardwick. A store clerk called the Hardwick Police Department after a man, later determined to be Robert Chaplin, 27, was denied service to purchase alcohol because he was deemed too intoxicated. A second man, later identified as Darryl Johnson, 48, of Greensboro, intervened in a dispute between Chaplin and the store clerk. Chaplin had left the store before Hardwick police arrived.

About 90 minutes later, Chaplin arrived at the home of Johnson on Eligo Lake Road, and an altercation ensued outside the residence between the two men during which Johnson allegedly fired a handgun, striking Chaplin. Hardwick Rescue subsequently transported Chaplin to Copley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.