A Hartford, CT man is charged with offering a confidential informant $10K to kill someone who had disrespected and stolen from him. 

The US Attorney for Vermont announced March 31 that on March 27, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Tremaine Knight, also known as “Brody,” 43, of Hartford, Connecticut, with murder-for-hire and distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, and cocaine base.

Authorities say that Knight’s arraignment will occur on April 3, before United States Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein, in Burlington. Knight was ordered detained pending further proceedings on March 25, following issuance of a complaint charging him with drug distribution on March 20.

According to court records, law enforcement, working with a confidential informant (“CI”), conducted five controlled purchases of drugs from Knight between February and March. The first three buys occurred in Massachusetts, and the last two buys occurred in Brattleboro, with Knight traveling from Hartford to meet the CI. During the first Vermont buy, Knight sold to the CI approximately 140 grams of powder cocaine and over 40 grams of fentanyl, and during the second, Knight sold the CI approximately 150 grams of powder cocaine, 30 grams of cocaine base, and 85 grams of fentanyl.

During one of the Massachusetts buys, Knight asked the CI if the CI would be willing to kill a man who had disrespected and stolen from Knight. Knight offered $10,000 for the man’s death. In subsequent conversations and during the subsequent buys, Knight provided the CI with additional details regarding the man’s identity and the plan for the murder. During one of the Vermont buys, Knight paid the CI a $1,000 deposit for the murder by canceling a drug debt. Knight was taken into custody following that buy.

For the murder-for-hire charge, Knight faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Because the charged drug distributions involved 40 or more grams of fentanyl, Knight faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years if convicted. 

Man charged with sex abuse of 12-year-old he met online – The US Attorney also announced that on January 22, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Ian Blochwitz, 33, of Buffalo, New York, with transporting a minor victim from Vermont to New York with intent to engage in sexual activity for which Blochwitz could be charged with a criminal offense in New York.

Blochwitz entered a plea of not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on March 20, before Judge Kevin J. Doyle. Judge Jerome Niedermeier held a detention hearing on March 26, and ordered that Blochwitz be detained.

According to court records, Blochwitz met his twelve-year-old victim on an anonymous chat platform. In February 2023, Blochwitz drove a rental car from Buffalo, New York, to Vermont to meet the minor victim. He then took the minor victim to a short-term rental location in Whitehall, New York, where he engaged in sexual activity with the minor victim. He then drove the minor victim back to Vermont before returning to Buffalo.

Blochwitz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years of imprisonment and up to a lifetime of imprisonment if convicted.