|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A version of this story appeared in the Caledonian Record
By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
RUTLAND — Two Springfield, Mass. area men are due in Vermont Superior Court on this afternoon to face charges in connection with a fatal shooting in Rutland City over the weekend.
Dylin Wainscott, 28, of Westfield, Mass is facing a felony charge of first-degree murder and possession of a narcotic, authorities said.
Precious Okorie, 31, of Springfield, Mass. is facing charges of being an accessory before the fact and conspiracy to commit murder, they said.
Christopher Hale, 32, of Rutland was killed in the shooting, according to Rutland City Police Commander Charles Whitehead.
Hale was known to police in the Rutland area and reportedly was shot on a porch of an Elm Street home on the city’s westside shortly after 7 p.m. Friday.
The shooting may be the latest in the ongoing connection of illegal activities — drugs and/or guns — flowing between Rutland and Springfield, Mass. area, officials said.
Wainscott was arrested in June 2017 as part of a seizure of nearly 1,000 bags of heroin in Westfield, Mass., police in his hometown reported at the time. The outcome of that criminal case could not be determined over the weekend.
The shooting was reported at 7:07 p.m. and Hale was pronounced dead after his arrival at the Rutland Regional Medical Center, police said.
A state judge ordered both defendants held without bail at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. The jail listed Okorie as 31 years-old, while City Police said he is 38.
Rutland Police offered few details about the homicide.
Gunshots were reported on Elm Street near Grant Avenue shortly after 7 p.m., police said.
Responding officers confirmed the shooting and that one person had received suspected multiple gunshot wounds, police said in a preliminary news release.
Rutland City Police and members of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations arrested the two suspects at 10:15 p.m., about three hours after the shooting.
Police impounded two vehicles, including one that was stopped near Walmart after the shooting. It was unclear if search warrants had been authorized by a judge for the vehicles during the weekend.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan and the Rutland office of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations are working closely with city police.
The Vermont State Police Crime Scene Search Team, which had been called to a double homicide in Montpelier earlier on Friday, also was asked to assist by combing the homicide site in Rutland.
Okorie also is known to police in multiple New England states. In a recent case, he was arrested in South Windsor, Conn. for reportedly breaking into a home in an attempt to collect rent to which he was not entitled, according to police in December 2023.
Okorie was charged with two counts of risk of injury to a child, first-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass, criminal attempt to commit second-degree larceny, third-degree identity theft, criminal impersonation, second-degree forgery and criminal
misrepresentation, police said. He was released after posting $100,000 bond, according to news accounts.
Okorie also has two convictions from 2016 in Cheshire County, N.H. for charges of being an accomplice to theft by deception and for possession of false identification, according to the Keene Sentinel newspaper.
Rutland Police said in its initial news release they believed the killing was an isolated, targeted incident and thought there was no threat to the public. Police did not say the basis of those beliefs.
Anybody with information about the homicide is asked to call Rutland City Police at (802) 773-1816. Detective Cpl. Adam Lucia is heading the investigation, police said.
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Drugs and Crime
Just another tourist from Springfield Mass. doing business in Vermont.
This is a reprint of my commentary to WCAX for their ugly and irresponsible showing of the actual murder of this young man in Rutland. Yellow journalism at its worst.
“It was sad to see another homicide in Montpelier. Even more disturbing is the graphic video of the young man gunned down on a porch in Rutland shown on your newscast this morning. It was very disturbing to see the actual shooting via a porch cam of the young man walking up the porch steps, knocking on the door, verbalizing, and then hearing two very loud gunshots, and witnessing his reeling and doubling over onto the porch and writhing as he lay dying [n this horrific murder scene.. Even though you gave a brief warning about possible ‘disturbing images’ I was shocked that WCAX gave us an actual murder complete with gunshots and the victim reeling and left dying on the porch. I feel for any family who had children viewing this disturbing event. It left a lasting sickening feeling for me, even at this very moment as I write…I am just thinking what effects it had upon any viewer, especially youngsters whose yet developing minds are still trying to process real life events.”
Such graphic content should never be allowed to be shown without at least some public condemnation of such a sickening disgusting video newscast.
Support Trump in cleansing Vermont and America of this criminal element.
I think it should be shown. It is a good wakeup call for the people of Vermont to see what has been going on in the not so rural states like NY, CT, MA, for years and years. Seeing it may change voters’ minds on the type of people we send to our legislature to make our laws.
Sometimes the truth is ugly and hurts, and even may cause good people to be wary of and biased against certain individuals based on their appearance…too bad. The truth about criminal perpetrators is a public safety measure that may save lives and reduce harm. I’m more than happy to read a nice article about someone from Springfield MA doing something good and improving the human condition but those stories just dont pop up in the news for some reason…
Followup to ‘graphic shooting’ in Rutland… I viewed it again today and WCAX has
blurred most all of the video content and shortened it considerably and eliminated the very loud gunshots. Presumably because of feedback to the station. Quite the edit.
Footnote: each time I write a comment to their newsroom, and there have been many over the past few years, WCAX has never responded or even acknowledged the contact. (They must suspect that I am Republican)
Like you, I find the video unsettling. However, the majority of Vermonters must find it a tolerable, cultural norm, as they refuse to elect an Attorney General and State’s Attorneys committed to ending the drug war carnage.
Oh, if the video keeps you awake, use the time to pray for the 200+ Vermont mothers that buried a child this past year. Victims that are just a s dead and killed by the exact, same element. But hell, you didn’t have watch the life extinguished from those souls. So they really don’t count, huh?
Just more trash up from the cities, It’s too bad they got caught, but then again with Vermont’s liberal justice system they’ll probably be released and never seen again !!
Wake up people
The problem is that they have been continually let go with no punishment for their crimes. These states that border Vermont are letting them walk and most are felons. They probably believe nothing will happen to them here in Hicksville so they show up or are sent by their controllers to enforce the those who haven’t paid their bills to the dealers. Vermont’s legislature should stop everything to build a prison, properly staff and fund it. Keeping the uncivilized behind bars is the only remedy for rampant crime. Instead, they will disarm a lawful man or woman by violating both constitutions rights to self-defense and then gaslight their supporters by telling them they passed crime control.