The Vermont State Police on Monday, Feb. 5 arrested a third suspect on charges arising from the Feb. 2, 2022, homicide of 17-year-old Isiah Rodriguez in Danby.
Elijah Johnson, 22, of Manchester was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant on a charge of being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors also have filed additional charges of conspiracy to commit murder and aiding in the commission of a felony. Police arrested Johnson in Burlington following his release from federal custody on unrelated charges. He was transported to the Rutland Barracks for processing and then subsequently jailed at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $15,000 bail.
Johnson is expected to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Bennington.
On Monday, Jan. 29, members of the state police arrested 32-year-old Ashley Wicks and 28-year-old Shawn Bulson, both of Bennington, on charges of being accessories after the fact to the fatal shooting. Wicks also was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Both suspects are expected to be arraigned Tuesday morning, Jan. 30, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Bennington. A hearing also is expected on whether probable cause exists to charge Wicks with the conspiracy count.
Through a complex, lengthy investigation that began after Rodriguez’s body was found early Feb. 3, 2022, on Danby Mountain Road, state police detectives determined the homicide arose from a dispute among a group of people regarding drug trafficking and stolen firearms.