Over a hundred people booked into VT DoC this week

by FYIVT.com

The week belonged to a Burlington courtroom, where a jury needed barely two hours to reject an insanity defense and convict Jason Eaton of attempted murder in the 2023 shooting of three Palestinian American college students. Elsewhere, the docket ran heavy on sex-offense cases — a man held without bail in Windham County on child sexual assault and kidnapping counts, two Bennington residents cited over the same 2025 assault — alongside the usual grind of impaired driving, suspended licenses and conditions-of-release violations from Fair Haven to Lyndonville.

Addison: Meribeth A. Hammond, 39, of Burlington was arrested and cited for aggravated assault after an incident on Bristol Road in Monkton at about 4:27 a.m. on September 19, state police said. She was lodged at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility on $500 bail and ordered to appear in Vermont Superior Court, Addison Criminal Division, on September 21. Read more

Kevin Gibbs, 62, of South Burlington was issued a criminal citation for negligent operation following a stop on U.S. Route 7 in Salisbury at about 5:50 p.m. on September 17. He is due in Addison Criminal Division on November 2. Read more

Jill Booska, 55, of Leicester was cited for unlawful trespass under 13 V.S.A. 3705 following an incident on U.S. Route 7 in Leicester at about 11:20 a.m. on September 21, with a court appearance set for the following day. Read more

Bennington: Nathan A. Gray, 36, of Bennington was sentenced September 17 in Bennington County Superior Court to one day to nine years to serve after pleading guilty across multiple dockets to second-offense DUI (drugs or both), criminal refusal, two counts of cocaine possession over 2.5 grams, narcotic possession at 100 times the benchmark dose and violating conditions of release, along with six violations of probation. The sentences run concurrently. Read more

State police announced September 22 that Tyler Twiss, 20, of Bennington was issued a criminal citation for sexual assault under 13 V.S.A. 3252 in connection with a November 11, 2025, incident in Bennington. He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in Bennington Criminal Division on October 12. Read more

State police announced the same day that Chastity Twiss, 42, of Bennington was cited on charges of accessory before the fact, sexual assault and cruelty to a child in connection with the same November 11, 2025, incident. Police say she knowingly allowed and encouraged her adult son to be in a sexual relationship with a juvenile female. She was released on her own recognizance with an October 12 arraignment date. Read more

Scott Brian Messenger, 53, of Dorset was arrested September 17 on a charge of violation of an abuse prevention order following an incident on Tower Road in Dorset. Troopers transported him to the Shaftsbury barracks for processing, and he was ordered to appear in Bennington Criminal Division on September 21. Read more

Anthony E. Williams, 22, of Bennington was released with a citation for first-offense DUI, negligent operation and excessive speed after a stop at Route 7A and Cleveland Avenue in Shaftsbury at about 7:40 p.m. on September 19. He is due in court October 5. Read more

Caledonia: Craig Speed, 37, of Newark was arrested September 17 on Middle Street in Lyndonville on two counts of violation of conditions of release, unlawful mischief and aggravated disorderly conduct. Police say he was taken into custody without incident; he was arraigned in Caledonia Superior Court on September 18 and released under further conditions. Read more

Tehya Boucher, 34, of Greenbush, Maine, was released on a citation for DUI refusal after a stop at Route 2 and Jamieson Road in Danville at about 5:16 p.m. on September 19, state police said. Read more

Chittenden: A jury on September 21 found Jason Eaton guilty on all three counts of attempted murder in the November 2023 shooting of three Palestinian American college students on Prospect Street in downtown Burlington. Jurors deliberated roughly two hours and rejected a defense that argued Eaton was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the shooting. One of the three men was left paralyzed. Sentencing has not been scheduled. Read more

Brayden Hemingway, 18, of Vergennes was charged in federal court with the September 13 armed robbery of a Stewart’s Shop in South Burlington and was ordered detained ahead of a September 22 detention hearing. Investigators say he is also a suspect in other armed robberies and burglaries. Read more

Steven Diltz, 45, of South Barre was issued a criminal citation for negligent operation after an incident on Interstate 89 southbound near mile marker 72 in Bolton at about 4 p.m. on September 17. He was not lodged and is due in Chittenden Criminal Division on November 10. Read more

Franklin: Jeremy Edwards, 40, of Milton was cited for identity theft, giving false information to a police officer and driving with a suspended license after a stop on Ethan Allen Highway in Georgia at about 4:10 p.m. on September 20. His vehicle was towed; court is set for November 24. Read more

Matthew Herlihy, 42, of St. Albans was cited for leaving the scene of an accident following a 6:09 a.m. crash September 16 on Ethan Allen Highway in front of Georgia Elementary School. He is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on November 2. Read more

Elliot Smith, 26, of Killington was arrested at the Highgate port of entry at about 1:24 a.m. on September 17 on a DUI charge and on a warrant for failing to appear on an earlier excessive speed charge. He was transported to Northwest State Correctional Facility for lack of $200 bail and cited to appear October 5. Read more

Lamoille: Adam West, 46, of Eden was issued citations for driving with a criminally suspended license and on a warrant for failure to appear after a stop on Vermont Route 100 in North Hyde Park at about 3:19 p.m. on September 19. He was not lodged and faces court dates in both Lamoille and Orleans counties. Read more

Orange: Brandon Turner, 29, of Newbury was released on a citation for second-offense DUI and negligent operation after an incident at Route 302 and Boltonville Road in Newbury at about 12:48 a.m. on September 19. He is due in Orange County court October 28. Read more

Orleans: Sofia Schiro, 19, of East Elmhurst, New York, was released on a citation for excessive speed and negligent operation after a stop on Interstate 91 north near mile marker 158 in Barton at about 9:35 p.m. on September 18. She is scheduled for Orleans County criminal court on November 24. Read more

Rutland: Benjamin M. Carroll, 32, of Fair Haven was arrested September 15 on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and escape. Police say that during an argument at his Prospect Street residence he pointed a handgun at another person and fired rounds near them, and that while he was being prepared for transport he fled on foot from the police station before being apprehended nearby. He was ordered held without bail at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility, with arraignment set for September 16. Read more

Dawson Parker, 24, of Fair Haven was cited for cruelty to a child after an incident on River Street at about 6:05 p.m. on September 17. He was not lodged, was released on conditions imposed by a judicial officer, and was ordered to appear in Rutland Criminal Division on September 18. Read more

State police announced September 17 that Jake Desjadon, 39, of Rutland was issued a criminal citation for aggravated assault stemming from a July 11 incident at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility. He is due in Rutland Criminal Division on October 19. Read more

Washington: Keith Marino, 66, of Duxbury was issued a citation for simple assault after an incident on Loomis Hill Road in Waterbury at about 5:34 p.m. on September 16. He was ordered to appear in Washington County Superior Court on September 17. Read more

Thomas J. Fallon, 33, of Morristown was issued a criminal citation for three counts of violation of conditions of release after an incident on Luce Road in Calais at about 12:56 p.m. on September 21. Police say he violated an existing release order by contacting and harassing a household member. He was lodged at Northeast Correctional Complex on $200 bail and ordered to appear in Washington Criminal Division the next day. Read more

Windham: Ronald Cooke, 58, was ordered to continue to be held without bail following his arraignment September 16 in Windham Superior Court on charges of sexual assault of a child, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, luring a child and furnishing alcohol to a minor. Read more

Shameik Camara, 37, of Hartford, Connecticut, was arraigned in federal court in Burlington on September 17 on drug distribution charges after investigators say he made 15 controlled sales in the Brattleboro area, totaling more than 10 1/2 ounces of crack cocaine and 91 bags of fentanyl. A federal magistrate judge ordered him detained without bail, and he was lodged at Northwest State Correctional Facility. Read more

State police reported September 17 that Korbyn Bacon, 30, of Bellows Falls was cited on a burglary charge in connection with a September 4 incident in Grafton. The citation was served at Southern State Correctional Facility, and he is due in Windham Criminal Division on October 20. Read more

Windsor: Nicholas Garcia, 20, of Weathersfield was arrested and cited on a domestic assault charge after an incident on Bean Hill Lane in Weathersfield at about 11:59 a.m. on September 20. Troopers transported him to the Westminster barracks for processing, and he was ordered to appear in Windsor Superior Court, Criminal Division, on September 21. Read more

Jessica Taylor, 40, of Rutland was issued a criminal citation for DUI-drugs following a crash on U.S. Route 4 near Raymond Hill Road in Bridgewater at about 5:07 p.m. on September 17. She is due in Windsor County criminal court on November 10. Read more

Cade A. Ray, 29, of Vergennes was arrested and cited for DUI and driving with a criminally suspended license after an incident on Camp Brook Road in Bethel at about 3 p.m. on September 17. His court date is October 6. Read more

Vermont State Police: Colleen Fahey, 53, of Lancaster, New Hampshire, was arrested on an active warrant for failure to appear following a September 17 motor vehicle stop on Vermont Route 104 near Michelle Road in Fairfax, and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and negligent operation. She was transported to Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility on $200 bail and ordered to appear in Caledonia County Superior Court on September 18. Read more

Troopers reported September 18 that Clifford Bostwick, 66, of Brattleboro was arrested on charges of DUI-drugs and on an outstanding warrant following a September 12 stop on Interstate 91 north in Rockingham. He was lodged at Southern State Correctional Facility on $200 bail with a November 10 court date. Read more

Twelve of Vermont’s fourteen counties reported verifiable criminal activity this week.

Our thanks go out to the troopers, municipal officers, deputies and federal agents who worked this week’s cases — the Burlington investigators and prosecutors who carried a three-year-old shooting all the way to a jury, the Fair Haven officers who chased down a fleeing suspect on foot, and the patrol troopers who pulled impaired drivers off Route 7A, Route 302 and the interstates before someone got hurt. Most of that work never makes a headline, and Vermont is safer for it.

By the numbers

Vermont booked 110 people into Department of Corrections custody or supervision in the seven days of September 15 through 21 — down from 114 the week before. As of the state’s latest update, 816 people are detained in a Vermont facility awaiting trial. Live counts, the daily intake log, and a person lookup are in The Booking Log, which queries the state’s own data directly.