Follows state police investigation of Officer Joshua Lake
By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First
The Windsor County Democratic Committee appears to be subtle as it tries to distance itself from embattled Joshua Lake in his 3-way primary race for county sheriff after two state prosecutors issued a letter this week questioning his credibility.
The county committee, in a Facebook post today, notes Lake’s problems stem initially from a criminal investigation by the Vermont State Police.
Lake, a fulltime Bellows Falls Police officer for almost two years, has blamed outgoing Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer, for his recent problems and claims the attack on him is politically motivated.
The county committee said Palmer had nothing to do with the so-called Giglio letter issued by the prosecutors.
The offices of the Windham County State’s Attorney and the Vermont Attorney General co-signed the letter that said the VSP investigation showed Lake admitted he exaggerated about a crime he mentioned to a Walpole, N.H. police officer on Dec. 14.
The Windsor County committee posting follows detailed news coverage on the Lake case since Sunday by both Vermont News First and the Vermont Standard in Woodstock.
The stories outlined how Lake had claimed in December that his wife had pulled a gun on the family a week earlier and had injured their young child 2 or 3 months earlier, records show. The Lakes were living in Rockingham in Windham County at the time, police said.
Here is the full posting from today by the political committee:
“Windsor County Democrats Statement on Vermont’s 2026 Windsor County Sheriff Primary
“It has come to the attention of the Windsor County Democratic Committee that on Monday August 3, 2026, Joshua Lake, one of the three Democratic candidates for Windsor County Sheriff, received a Giglio letter jointly signed by Steven Brown, State’s Attorney for Windham County and Domenica Padula, Chief, Criminal Division, Office of the Vermont Attorney General.
“This Giglio letter was issued as a result of an investigation by the Vermont State Police (not as a result of investigations by Sheriff Ryan Palmer).
“The term Giglio refers back to a United States Supreme Court case (Giglio v. United States). A Giglio letter is issued by prosecutors when they learn of information that a law enforcement officer has acted in a way that calls into question their credibility. In Vermont, a Giglio letter is a formal disclosure by a prosecutor indicating that an officer has a documented history of dishonesty, bias, or misconduct that undermines their credibility as a witness.
“As of today, it appears that Joshua Lake has decided to remain a candidate in the race. In a Sheriff candidate forum sponsored by Windsor County Democrats on Wednesday June 24, 2026, in answering a question about Giglio situations, Joshua Lake stated in his own answer that he “100% believes that we should not have law enforcement working the streets with Brady or Giglio letters.”
“One can find a link to this recorded forum on the Windsor County Democrats website
“While the Windsor County Democratic Committee does not endorse candidates prior to the August primary election, we encourage voters to carefully consider all the facts, including the facts shared above, read continuing news coverage on this unfolding story, and learn more about the two other Democratic candidates who are running for Windsor County Sheriff – Chris Norton of Springfield, Vermont, and Claude Weyant of Windsor, Vermont.”
(The end of Windsor County Democratic Committee statement)
The committee’s post also came one day after the Democratic Committee for the town of Chester pulled Lake’s picture from a political advertisement it was running online in the Chester Telegraph.
Lake, who now claims Chester as his residence, was pictured in the banner ad along with two other candidates: one for the Windsor Senate District and the other for a local House race. Now only the two potential legislators remain in the ad.
Lake may still have support from the Vermont Progressive Party. When asked on Facebook yesterday if the party still supported Lake in light of the recent allegations and the letter from the prosecutors, the Progressive Party wrote: “There is No Brady Letter.”