An autopsy has identified the victim of Tuesday’s shooting outside a St. Johnsbury hospital as Vincent Keithan, 44, of St. Johnsbury.
The autopsy at the Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck, and the manner of death is homicide.
State police are not speculating on a motive for the crime. Keithan did have a criminal and drug history, according to media and court reports sourced by Vermont Daily Chronicle. Court records show that in April 2018, Keithan was charged with driving while having a criminally suspended license. According to a 2014 news report, Keithan’s 22-month-old son died while in his custody. A neighbor interviewed for the news story said Keithan was a frequent drug user. In 2012, Vincent Keithan, 34, of Wheelock was arrested for stealing an I-Phone from a St. Johnsbury store.
State police say the investigation into this incident remains active and ongoing. No one is currently in custody in connection with this case.
Vermont State Police identified a Jeep Wrangler that was in the area at the time of the incident and sought to speak with the occupants. VSP alerted police agencies throughout the region to be on the lookout for that vehicle.
At about 5 p.m. Tuesday, the New York State Police located the Jeep headed south on the Taconic State Parkway near State Route 199 in the town of Milan in Columbia County. NYSP troopers initiated a traffic stop, but the operator of the Jeep failed to comply and led police on a short pursuit. Troopers used spike strips to end the pursuit, and the driver and passenger ran from the Jeep into the woods. NYSP located the men a short time later.
The passenger was uninjured and subsequently released. The Jeep’s driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized. NYSP reports that the driver’s condition is stable.
Categories: Crime
A criminal history?? You don’t say.
Imagine that. another less than stellar induvial being shot by someone from down country.
Weekly stories report another drug dealer, sex trafficking, shooting, stabbing with ties to CT or MA. I-91 is easy access from city issues to our under policed rural areas. But Montpellier thinks the law abiding Vermonters should have more restrictions on carrying firearms to protect themselves, their homes and families. Wake up legislators, an armed society is a polite society. A few more folks open carrying might make these city scum find other places to “do their business”. Unfortunately, for the victim in this incident, his fate was sealed by his associates.