A boat detached from its trailer on Interstate 89 in Colchester on Thursday night. (Photo by Abby Ledoux)

A driver hauling a 26-foot-long boat crashed his truck on Interstate 89 on Thursday night in Colchester, causing serious traffic delays, a Vermont State Police press release said.

Just after 7 p.m. May 5, Peter Hack’s boat trailer hit the right-side guardrails near mile marker 97, causing him to lose control of his truck. He crossed both southbound travel lanes, traveled through the grass median and came to rest in a northbound lane, VSP said.

The boat detached from the trailer on initial impact and landed in the median, about 192 feet south of his vehicle, police said.

I89 was closed for 2.5 hours while crews removed debris from the area. Hack, 55, of Waterbury Center, sustained minor cuts and scrapes and was wearing a seatbelt. His truck, however, was totaled, police said.

Vermont State Police have opened a case to help a Georgia man find his missing dogs, a press release says.

Maurice Baker, 78, called police at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday when he returned home to find his dogs gone. The dogs were last seen at the home, on Route 7 near the Milton town line, police said.

The dogs were described as a brown and white boxer with a red collar and heart-shaped white mark on its forehead and a brown and white Boston terrier.

Anyone with information about the animals is asked to call VSP’s St. Albans barracks at 524-5993.

Mark Forkas (VSP photo)

Vermont State Police arrested a Georgia man after they say he pointed a gun at someone’s head, a press release said.

Mark Forkas, 58, was involved in a dispute at his Ethan Allen Highway residence at 6:30 a.m. on September 4. He made threatening comments before leaving the home, police said.

Police located Forkas the following day at noon back at his home, where he was arrested and taken to the state police barracks for processing for first degree aggravated domestic assault, VSP said.

Forkas was then lodged at Northwest State Correctional Facility on $30,000 bail.

THOMAS SHAW (courtesy photo)

Vermont State Police arrested a St. Albans man for driving under the influence of drugs on Milton’s Interstate 89, a press release said.

Thomas Shaw, 31, was in the breakdown lane near mile marker 98. Police suspected he was under the influence and took him into custody, VSP said.

Shaw was processed and released on a citation for DUI, which he’ll answer in court on September 26, police said.

A Georgia man was arrested last Friday night for drunken driving after crashing his car on Sodom Road, a press release said Monday.

Vermont State Police responded to a single vehicle crash and found a 2013 Toyota Corolla off the left side of the road with no operator present. Investigation revealed Robert Mackenzie, 62, was driving the car under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, police said.

A preliminary breath test registered Mackenzie’s blood-alcohol content at .143 percent, the press release said. He was transported to VSP’s St. Albans barracks for processing and cited to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on November 21 to face the DUI charge.

Tonyel Colby (VSP photo)

Vermont State Police arrested a 39-year-old Milton woman for possessing crack cocaine, a press release said.

Police stopped a vehicle driven by Tonyel Colby at 6 p.m. on October 25 for a marked lane violation on Interstate 89 northbound in Middlesex.

A subsequent search of Colby’s vehicle yielded 57 grams of crack cocaine and 15 grams of powder cocaine, police said. Colby was lodged at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $5,000 bail and will be arraigned October 26, police said.

Vermont State Police are asking the public’s help identifying the driver of a suspicious truck connected to a larceny in Milton, a news release said.

Troopers are investigating the theft of a 2016 orange Generac 3300-watt generator from 62 Westford Rd. in Milton.

Around 8 p.m. on November 4, a dark colored truck with a loud exhaust was seen leaving the address, and the generator – valued at $338 – was later found missing, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call VSP Cpl. Andrew Leise at 878-7111. State police remind residents to keep valuables secured to prevent theft.

Three separate collisions involving a total of 10 vehicles occurred during a 30-minute period on Interstate 89 north on Tuesday evening.

All three accidents happened between 5 and 5:30 p.m., and reports filed by responding state troopers indicate traffic volumes were heavy during that time on the northbound interstate.

Vermont State Police from the Williston barracks responded to the first crash in South Burlington near Exit 14 at mile marker 89, which involved two vehicles, just minutes after 5 p.m.

Upon investigation, police concluded one of the vehicles, a 2016 Toyota Rav-4 driven by Carolyn Fundis, 52, of Milton, had slowed down due to congested traffic near the exit.

The second vehicle, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala driven by Natalie Gagnon, 17, of Shelburne was traveling behind the Rav-4 and collided with the back end of Fundis’ SUV.

Both drivers were wearing seatbelts and neither was injured; however, both vehicles sustained bumper damage. The cause of the accident is still being investigated, troopers said.

At 5:09 p.m., state police and South Burlington Fire and EMS responded to a second collision involving two vehicles at mile marker 88.8, also within close proximity to Exit 14 on I-89N.

Law enforcement
officials determined one of the vehicles, a 2016 Toyota Corolla driven by Wayne Billado, 20, of Milton was unable to avoid rear-ending the second vehicle involved, a 1999 Ford Explorer driven by Tenesha Cusson-Ducharme, 33, of Winooski, police said.

Billado’s vehicle sustained considerable front-end damage and was declared totaled. The back end of Cusson-Ducharme’s SUV was damaged but not totaled. The occupants in both vehicles were wearing seatbelts, and no injuries were reported.

State police and South Burlington crews responded to the third collision involving six vehicles, which occurred near the I-89 northbound ramp on 189E, at approximately 5:24 p.m.

Police reports indicate this collision resulted from heavy traffic congestion caused by the accident that occurred minutes beforehand at mile marker 88.8, a press release said.

The pile-up began when a 2016 Honda Odyssey driven by Brian Singh, 32, of Milton couldn’t stop and crashed into the back of a 2012 GMC Sierra driven by Harold Tricou, 50, of New Haven.

The impact then pushed Tricou’s SUV forward into a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country driven by Theresa Hanson, 36, of Highgate. As a result, Hanson’s minivan was then forced into the back end of 2012 Toyota Camry driven by Meghan Lout, 37, of Colchester.

Simultaneously, Jared Poland, 21, of Milton, who was driving a 2013 Ford F-150 slammed into the rear of Singh’s GMC Sierra. A driver, Sandra Brisson, 62, of North Ferrisburgh, who was operating a 2013 CRV, then hit the back of Poland’s pick-up truck.

All the vehicles involved sustained damage, but none were totaled. All the occupants we were seatbelts, and no one was hurt, police said.

Rykeen Allen (VSP photo)

A traffic stop on Georgia’s Interstate 89 led to the drug arrest of a St. Albans man Monday afternoon.

Vermont State Police stopped Rykeem Allen, 24, for a moving violation and found he was in possession of crack cocaine, a press release said.

Troopers cited Allen with possession of cocaine; he is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on December 19. He was released, and his vehicle was towed from the scene.

Vermont State Police issued a Georgia man two tickets for a crash on Interstate 89 last week that totaled his vehicle and injured his passenger.

Police say Brandon Boissoneault, 22, was driving his 2015 GMC Sierra at 70 mph on Georgia’s I-89 when he hydroplaned, hit the guardrail and rolled three times down an embankment around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3.

It was raining at the time of the crash, and pools of water had built up on the interstate, a VSP press release said. The Georgia Fire Department arrived on scene first to find Boissoneault’s truck on its roof and two occupants trapped inside.

Boissoneault was transported to Northwestern Medical Center for minor injuries. His passenger, Hannah Mason, 17, was transported to University of Vermont Medical Center. Police said Mason sustained a broken back in two places, a broken ankle, a concussion and potentially a broken hip.

Troopers shut down I-89 to one lane for approximately three hours, and McRae’s Towing and Interstate Auto assisted in removing the vehicle from the side of the highway, police said.

Boissoneault was issued two tickets by mail, one for driving too fast for conditions and one for items obstructing the windshield, police said.

Vermont State Police say a crashed tractor-trailer unit closed Route 7 in Georgia for two hours on Monday.

Troopers from the St. Albans barracks received several calls around 3:45 p.m. December 5 about a TT unit jack-knifed near Mountain View Drive, an area known as Dead Man’s Curve, a press release said.

Upon arrival, police learned the driver, 57-year-old Mario Gignac, had missed the nearby Interstate 89 on-ramp and attempted to turn around in a residential neighborhood. Troopers issued him a traffic ticket, the news release said.

The roadway was closed until McCrae’s Towing in Milton could remove the truck. Traffic was flowing safely by 5:30 p.m., police said.

*** THIS POST WAS UPDATED AT 11:52 P.M. ***

A Georgia man is facing second degree murder charges after Vermont State Police say he killed one man and left another with life-threatening injuries.

Ethan Gratton (Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police)

Ethan Gratton, 26, was taken into custody after allegedly fatally shooting David Hill, 57, and wounding Mark Brito, 27, outside Gratton’s Georgia Mountain Rd. home, a press release said Monday night. Both victims are from Fairfax.

VSP received a 911 call at 1:50 p.m. Monday afternoon about a suspected shooting on the dead-end road off Route 104A near the Fairfax town line, an earlier press release said. Officers immediately secured the scene upon their arrival and found the two males, later identified as Hill and Brito, lying in the road.

Preliminary investigation revealed the men were traveling in a green Kenworth truck with a lowboy flatbed trailer attached and had stopped facing west in the roadway near the entrance to a Georgia Mountain Rd. driveway.

Police said Gratton, who lived at the residence, had a confrontation with the two men which led to his shooting them both in the roadway. Hill was found deceased of an apparent gunshot wound and will be transported to the chief medical examiner’s office for autopsy and to confirm identity and cause of death; Brito was transported to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans and then to UVM Medical Center in Burlington for life-threatening injuries.

The circumstances of the fatal confrontation are still under investigation, police said, noting crime scene processing will remain active overnight. The VSP Major Crime Unit and detectives from the Bureau of Criminal Investigations are leading the investigation, which is being treated as a homicide. 

Gratton was transported to VSP’s St. Albans barracks and later cited with second degree murder and attempted second degree murder. He was held on lack of $100,000 bail and scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court – Criminal Division on Tuesday morning.

Georgia Mountain Road was closed this afternoon while police processed the scene.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

A solemn air fell over the Franklin County Superior Courtroom around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, just less than 24 hours after police say 26-year-old Ethan Gratton shot two men outside the Georgia home he shares with his parents, killing one and critically wounding the other.

Franklin County sheriffs led a handcuffed and disheveled Gratton into the room filled with spectators and media. With a black eye and flanked by two public defenders temporarily assigned to him, Gratton pleaded not guilty to felony counts of second degree murder and attempted murder.

Ethan Gratton, 26, of Georgia pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and attempted second degree murder in Franklin County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. (Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux, County Courier)

Police say the lifelong Franklin County resident and Castleton State University graduate with no prior criminal record fatally shot David Hill, 57, of Fairfax and nearly killed Mark Brito, 27, of Fairfax in his Georgia Mountain Road driveway Monday afternoon after a dispute about the men turning around on his property.

Gratton’s attorneys, though, argued he acted in self defense after the two men beat him up.

Visibly distraught, the victims’ family members filled the right side of the courtroom Tuesday, accompanied by victim’s advocate Kelly Woodward. A middle-aged couple, both in gray sweatshirts with “Brito” printed on the arm, fought back tears throughout the proceeding.

On the opposite side, Gratton’s family and friends sat in silence. Judge A. Gregory Rainville first denied Gratton’s request for a public defender, noting his full-time employment at The Cupboard Deli in Jeffersonville precluded him from enjoying the right typically reserved for low-income defendants. Rainville temporarily assigned public defenders Steven Dunham and Rosie Chase to Gratton’s case until he can hire his own counsel.

After Dunham entered the not guilty pleas on Gratton’s behalf, Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes requested the judge order Gratton held without bail considering the severity of his charges ­– both carry potential life sentences and a minimum of 20 years in prison – and what Hughes called great evidence of guilt presented in Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Jacob Zorn’s affidavit.

Hughes referenced quotes from Gratton’s mother’s original 911 call, in which a male voice presumed to be Gratton’s is heard admitting he shot two men in his driveway. Hughes argued the recording showed Gratton “acted intentionally and willfully.”

Dunham argued the evidence shows Gratton acted in self defense – he was on his own property when the two men punched him in the face, broke his nose and knocked out a tooth, Dunham said.

“There’s physical evidence confirming that’s what happened,” the attorney added, requesting bail be set at no more than $25,000.

The state didn’t dispute the physical altercation occurred, “but that was over and done with” when Gratton walked back to his home and retrieved the weapon, Hughes said.

“That’s not the case, your honor,” Dunham refuted, arguing the gun was in Gratton’s hoodie pocket all along. He said Gratton confronted the two men about blocking his driveway with their truck and skidder when the latter started a physical fight.

Rainville sided with Hughes; further, there was no evidence that either victim had a weapon – therefore, Gratton could have retreated back to his home, the judge said, ordering the 26-year-old held without bail.

“Someone will f*****g kill him if he gets out of jail,” a spectator murmured from the back of the courtroom.

The incident

Suspicions were first aroused when VSP announced Georgia Mountain Road was closed for “an incident” around 3 p.m. Monday. It wasn’t until nearly three hours later police confirmed a fatal shooting had occurred on the rural dead-end road near Route 104A and the Fairfax town line.

Zorn’s affidavit begins with a description of the 911 call police received from Gratton’s mother, Pamela, at 1:48 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Pamela told the dispatcher, “There were two bodies in the road near her house and they looked like they were dead,” the document reads.

Zorn said the recording captured the following conversation:

     Pamela: Did Ethan get into a fight with them?
     Male voice: Yes.
     Pamela: Did you shoot them?
     Male: I f****** shot them.
     Pamela: Both of them?
     Male: Yes, the mother****** Dan [Dave] Hill, he punched me in the face.
     Pamela: Why?
     Male: Cause I told him not to back up in the driveway. I got punched in the face. Said it was none of my business. The other mother**** came around and I f****** shot him too. I don’t care. I’ll shoot myself. I don’t give a f***. I ain’t going to jail.

Trooper Matthew Johnson responded to the Grattons’ home where he recovered a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson Shield semi-automatic pistol and extended shell casing from the trunk of Pamela’s vehicle; Gratton sat in the backseat, Zorn wrote.

Johnson also found the deceased Hill lying face down in the road and Brito face-up on the ground. The latter was still breathing but suffered a gunshot wound to the face, the affidavit says.

A medical examination revealed the bullet entered Brito’s right eye and traveled toward the center of his head; there was no exit wound, documents show. Troopers examined Hill’s body and found multiple gunshot wounds to his head and torso.

UVM Medical Center officials said Brito was still listed in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.

The affidavit says Gratton told Trooper Johnson the victims “rocked him,” referring to a facial injury Gratton sustained in the confrontation.

Police say Gratton, pictured here in court Tuesday, killed one man and critically wounded another in his driveway. (Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux, County Courier)

Police say Gratton told his father and at least one other witness that he shot the two men after they punched him in the face.

Court documents show a neighbor heard a shot around 1:50 p.m.; another told police she was out walking her dog when she saw Hill starting his skidder, leave it running then drive his truck away. She said she heard gunshots around 2 p.m.

Another neighbor, Tammy Barrows, said she saw Hill on the road when she returned from running errands with her father. Barrows told police Hill flashed his truck lights at her and she waved back as she traveled toward her sugar woods. When she went back down to retrieve a part she had forgotten, she saw Hill on the ground “and thought there was some type of accident,” the affidavit says.

She ran to Hill, realizing “the situation was not good at all,” the document continues. On the other side of Hill’s truck, she saw Brito on the ground, still breathing. She reported screaming at Gratton’s father, Jeff, who stood a distance away; he said he didn’t know what happened, but later reportedly told Barrows “they had assaulted his son and that his son’s tooth was up in the back of his head,” the affidavit says. Jeff told Barrows’ father Gratton was “defending himself.”

Neighbor Kevin Harrison also saw the men on the ground while driving up the road around 2 p.m., police said. Harrison described seeing another male in his 50s or 60s who seemed agitated and told him to go away. Harrison asked the man if anyone needed help, to which the man responded “both individuals were dead,” Zorn wrote.

Though Harrison initially approached wanting to help, “as he spoke with the people on scene, he got the feeling that he was getting in the middle of a disturbing situation,” Zorn wrote.

At the scene, Trooper Ashley Farmer saw a significant amount of blood on and around the victims’ truck, the affidavit says. Farmer also observed blood in Gratton’s driveway near a set of footprints leading to the residence.

Inside, Trooper Mike Mattuchio saw blood droplets on the kitchen floor, in the sink and smeared on a curtain, the hallway wall and bathroom floor. Mattuchio also found a pair of bloody boots.

Police took Gratton into custody that day and announced felony charges late Monday night. Investigators continue to process the scene, and attorneys said subsequent evidence and affidavits are expected.

After less than 15 minutes before the judge, Gratton left the courtroom in custody. His bail review hearing was not yet scheduled at press time Tuesday night.

Emotions were high in the Franklin County Superior Courtroom where 26-year-old Ethan Gratton sat silently between his attorneys on Wednesday, his back to his parents and a slew of friends and family of the two men police say he shot earlier this month.

David Hill, 57, died at the scene and Mark Brito, 27, is in critical condition at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Ethan Gratton, 26, appears in Franklin County Superior Court with defense attorney Rosie Chase on Wednesday, Jan. 18 for his bail hearing. The Georgia man is charged with second degree and attempted second degree murder after police say he shot two men outside his home earlier this month. (Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux/County Courier)

The Georgia man’s evidentiary bail hearing lasted all day on January 11, nine days after the fatal incident occurred outside his Georgia Mountain Rd. home on a clear, cold afternoon.

Preliminary evidence suggests Gratton got into an altercation with Fairfax loggers Hill and Brito about turning around in his driveway that day. A physical fight escalated when gunshots rang out around 1:30 p.m., at which point the state says Gratton shot Hill five times in the back and head and Brito once in the face.

Wednesday saw more than five hours of testimony from eight witnesses, audio of the 911 call from Gratton’s mother, crime scene photos and a 22-page medical report of Gratton’s hospital visit.

Gratton pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of second-degree and attempted second-degree murder on January 3 and was ordered held without bail then. On Wednesday, Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes asked judge A. Gregory Rainville to continue that order.

“The immediacy and extent of violence of Mr. Gratton’s actions cause concern and worry,” Hughes said. “The anger that drove him to shoot Mr. Hill five times and Mr. Brito one time in the head is not something that could be predicted or prevented by conditions of release.”

Public defenders Steve Dunham and Rosie Chase, temporarily assigned to Gratton’s case until he can obtain his own counsel – Rainville previously ruled Gratton is ineligible for public defense – argued the lifelong Georgia resident with no prior criminal record reacted in self defense after being punched on his own property and should be released to his family until trial.

Hughes did not dispute a physical confrontation occurred, but said Gratton was responsible for escalating it.

“He certainly could have just shut his door and locked it,” Hughes said. “When he returned back down the driveway, this was not a self defense action … he was not preventing violence, he was causing it.”

Even so, Chase asked the court to set bail no higher than $25,000, a request that prompted outcry from one side of the courtroom.

“Are you kidding me?” someone shouted, causing Rainville to call for order in his chambers.

“Stop, stop, everybody stop,” the judge demanded from the bench. “Folks, this is a court of law, not your living room. I understand that you’re very upset, and you have reason to be. … There are a lot of factual issues here, people. We should not be jumping to conclusions until we have the evidence.”

The evidence 

Though still incomplete and a mere “snapshot” compared to the “multitudes” that would be brought to trial, Rainville said, some evidence emerged Wednesday, offering the preliminary brush strokes of a scene still dominated with questions from both sides.

Hughes played the recording of Pamela Gratton’s 911 call, made around 1:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2 when she and her husband came upon a frightening scene outside the home they’ve shared for 30 years.

“There are two guys on the side of the road … I don’t know if they’ve been shot or what,” Pamela says on the tape, her voice giving way to anxiety when she is heard addressing her husband, Jeff, and neighbor, Caleb McLane, the latter who was on his way home from work that day.

McLane, the state’s second witness Wednesday, said he saw Hill’s truck and skidder parked in the middle of the road and two bloodied men lying on the ground. Scared and shaking, he pulled his truck out of sight into a neighbor’s driveway and tried to dial 911 when, shortly after, Gratton’s parents arrived.

“Has someone been shot, Caleb?” Pamela cries in the 911 call. “Jeffrey, has someone been shot? … What the hell happened? … Where’s Ethan?”

McLane testified he allowed the Grattons to use his cell phone to try and reach their son, who had worked all night at his job as head baker at The Cupboard in Jeffersonville and only returned home before they left to see family at 10:30 that morning.

“There’s two guys on either side of the truck,” Pamela advises the dispatcher. “I saw one guy move his arm, but my husband went up and he thinks they might both be dead now.”

Victims’ families in the courtroom openly cried while the tape played on, including when a male voice – later identified as Ethan’s – could be heard telling Pamela, “I f***** shot ‘em … I’ll shoot myself, I don’t give a f***. I ain’t going to jail.”

McLane confirmed he heard the whole exchange captured on the recording in person that afternoon. He recalled Gratton came outside in just his socks on the cold January day, clearly beaten with a broken nose, knocked out tooth, bruised eyes and blood on his sweatshirt.

“[Ethan said] one of them had punched him … [he said] he went back inside and got a gun and came back out and shot them,” McLane said. “[He was] very upset, not able to stay still … I remember Jeff asking where he got the gun.”

Pamela, one of two witnesses called by Gratton’s defense team, disputed McLane’s recollection. She agreed her son was injured – he was “bleeding profusely from his nose,” she said – and he looked “subdued … like he had been crying.”

But she was adamant: Though Gratton readily confessed to her he shot Hill and Brito, he never said he left the driveway to retrieve the gun.

When Pamela asked for the gun, she said, he relinquished the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson Shield semi-automatic pistol willingly from his hoodie pocket after removing the clip. She set it in the open hatch of her SUV and directed her son to sit in the back seat, away from the weapon, until police arrived.

Pamela Gratton, mother of accused Georgia shooter Ethan Gratton, is sworn in to testify at Franklin County Superior Court on Wednesday. (Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux/County Courier)

Through tears, she told the court her reasoning: “My fear was that the trooper would come and shoot Ethan,” she said. “I wanted the gun visible.”

Moments later, VSP Trooper Matthew Johnson arrived. Pamela approached him and said, “’My son just shot two men,’” he testified Wednesday.

Johnson said he handcuffed Gratton without issue. Before that, though, Johnson removed the pistol, one empty magazine and bullet casing from the trunk.

When backup arrived 30 seconds later, Johnson turned his attention to the men on the ground. Trained in tactical combat casualty care, “I was well equipped to treat these gunshot wounds,” he testified.

He ran to Hill and found him deceased – cold to the touch with sizable wounds, he said.

Dr. Elizabeth Bundock, deputy chief medical examiner, confirmed Hill’s cause of death were gunshot wounds to the head and torso. She listed manner of death as homicide, which she defined for the court by phone on Wednesday morning as “death at the hands of another.”

Johnson found Brito alive, but barely.

“His face was covered in blood,” he testified. “There’s not much medically you can do for that situation … he needed to be brought to the hospital immediately.”

Rescue crews arrived to do just that, and Brito has remained there since. An online fundraiser has raised over $14,000 in 11 days to fund his mounting medical bills.

Three more VSP personnel recounted their experience on the witness stand, including trooper Matthew Mattuchio. Charged with keeping Gratton’s parents secure during the investigation, Mattuchio said Pamela alerted him to blood in her kitchen, on the wall, on the bathroom floor and sink, in the basement and on a pair of boots.

Pamela recalled for the court her shock upon entering her home that day.

“I said to my husband, ‘It looks like this is a crime scene or something,’” she said.

VSP Detective Sgt. Jason Letourneau, commander of the crime scene search team, marked the trail of blood droplets outside the home. He testified they led from the road into the driveway, up around the driver’s side of Gratton’s parked truck and toward the basement entrance to the house.

While searching Gratton’s truck, police found an empty gun holster, several knives, other guns and rounds of ammunition as well as a “ballistics-type vest” similar to those worn by SWAT team members, Letourneau testified.

In Gratton’s room, police found another empty holster on the nightstand next to his bed.

Pamela said her son and husband both owned guns, though they’d been removed from the house since the incident. She knew Ethan occasionally carried a pistol for protection because he worked early morning hours alone and traveled in the dark, she added.

On the stand, Letourneau also confirmed tracks from Hill’s skidder were present in the Grattons’ driveway, indicating it turned around there.

When Hill’s family arrived on scene that evening, they advised Letourneau of the skidder’s disconnected electrical lines – though the machine was tightly secured with chains, he said, it’s unlikely Hill would have driven away without plugging in the lines to activate brake lights and turn signals.

Dunham showed Letourneau a photo of the scene depicting an 8.5-foot drag mark in the snow, suggesting Hill was originally on Gratton’s property before crawling or being dragged into the road.

“I would disagree with that,” Letourneau said, noting the drag mark did not start in Gratton’s driveway, and a major blood spot in the photo appeared more likely to be the spot where Hill fell.

The unknowns

The defense focused largely on Gratton’s facial wounds, submitting into evidence photos depicting progression of the bruising, swelling and discoloration they say came at the hands of Hill.

Hill was 6 feet tall and weighed 303 pounds – slightly muscular but obese, according to the medical examiner’s report.

Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes presents a crime scene photo depicting bloody boots in the Grattons’ Georgia Mountain Rd. basement. (Pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux/County Courier)

Pamela Gratton testified to the severity of her son’s injuries, which she said continued to worsen in police custody. When she visited him at the VSP St. Albans barracks that night, she said he was increasingly bruised, very sensitive to light, in pain from a migraine headache and repeatedly vomiting and dry heaving.

“There’s testimony here that would certainly support at least a minor traumatic brain injury,” Rainville said, noting well-documented medical science holds that serious concussion can significantly alter rational decision-making.

“Clearly the man was punched hard. Clearly he was punched more than once. He was hurt – nobody argued with that,” the judge said. “That doesn’t necessarily justify picking up a gun and starting shooting.

“All I’m pointing out to you is there are lot of unknowns here, folks,” he continued. “Do not rush to judgment. I’ve been sitting on this bench too many years to see what conclusions can be formed early on that are proven to be false.”

Rainville expounded on the “unique situation with unusual circumstances” – a college educated, fully employed 26-year-old with no history of violence making his first court appearance on murder charges – and declined to make a decision on bail until seeing more evidence.

He gave attorneys until January 27 to submit it. Until then, Gratton remains in custody at Northwest Correctional Facility.

“We don’t have any witnesses,” Rainville said. “It’s unusual for someone to get punched in the face … over an argument about driveway access. Something happened that we don’t know. It’s also unusual for someone who has no record to pick up a weapon and start shooting.”

The judge cautioned spectators about casting judgment before evidence like lab reports, additional police reports, medical examinations and psychological assessments could be considered.

“I’ll tell you, I do not know what happened and neither do you folks … we can surmise and speculate and make an educated guess,” he added. “It’s tragic for everybody involved.”

ROBERT ABAIR (VSP photo)

Vermont State Police arrested a Milton man for driving under the influence of drugs last week after troopers say he narrowly avoided colliding with other vehicles on Interstate 89.

A caller notified police of a silver Subaru driving erratically in the northbound lane of I-89 near Exit 18 in Georgia on January 18, a press release said. The caller said the reckless Subaru nearly caused collisions with multiple other vehicles as it struggled to maintain its lane.

The caller followed the vehicle onto Ballard Road, where police say it broke down. A lone male exited the car, and troopers responding to the scene identified him through prior law enforcement encounters as 28-year-old Robert Abair.

Abair told police his sister was driving the vehicle and he was staying with it while she went to get gas, the press release said. Investigation revealed otherwise, and police determined Abair was driving the car under the influence of drugs. They arrested him and transported him to VSP’s St. Albans barracks for processing.

He was released with a citation to appear in Franklin County Superior court on January 30 for DUI refusal.

Over seven months after the Route 7 crash that killed Georgia firefighter Leonard Delage, Vermont State Police have arrested the drunken driver they say was responsible.

Police cited Justin Hemond, 28, also a Georgia firefighter, with DUI with death resulting and grossly negligent operation with death resulting, a press release said late Tuesday night.

The arrest comes after an “in-depth, multifaceted investigation” by VSP’s crash reconstruction team, crime scene search team and the Vermont Forensic Laboratory, the release said.

Investigation began the night of the July 5 crash, when police responded to the scene near the Georgia/St. Albans town line. There, they found Delage, 32, deceased after he was ejected from the car, which police say was registered to Hemond. Responders also found Hemond ejected from the vehicle; he sustained severe injuries and was transported to the hospital, where he remained for a time in critical condition.

For months, police investigated who was driving the car at the time of the crash. Evidence revealed the car was traveling south on Route 7 when it left the roadway, crossed the southbound shoulder at a high speed, rolled multiple times and ejected both occupants.

On February 21, police announced they determined Hemond was driving the car under the influence at the time of the crash. They arrested him for DUI with death resulting and grossly negligent operation with death resulting, both felonies that carry potential sentences of up to 15 years in prison; the DUI charge also carries up to a $10,000 fine while the gross negligence charge carries up to a $15,000 fine.

Hemond was transported to VSP’s St. Albans barracks for processing and later released on citation to appear in Franklin County Superior Court – Criminal Division on March 20.

Police apprehended a St. Albans man with an active arrest warrant after spotting his car in Georgia last week, a press release said.

Vermont State Police conducted a DMV registration check on a vehicle parked in front of the northbound Georgia rest area last Friday around 10:30 p.m. and found the operator, Joshua Thibault, 37, had an arrest warrant out of Chittenden County and a civilly suspended license, the release said.

Thibault identified himself to troopers, who then obtained consent to search his vehicle, the release said. They found Suboxone that was not prescribed to Thibault and a small amount of marijuana, which they seized.

Troopers arrested Thibault on the warrant and issued new citations for possession of a depressant, stimulant or narcotic drug.

He was processed at the VSP St. Albans barracks and lodged at Northwest State Correctional Facility for the unrelated warrant, the release said.

He is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on April 24.

A report of a car with no plates at the Georgia Maplefields led to an arrest on Monday evening.

Vermont State Police arrested Dustin Brunelle, 30, of Georgia for driving with a criminally suspended license after troopers identified him as the operator of a red Lincoln Town Car with no registration plates reported at the gas station. Police located the car at the nearby Georgia park and ride, a press release said.

Brunelle also had an active arrest warrant for misdemeanor failure to appear, the release said.

He was taken into custody and lodged at the Northwest State Correctional Facility on $300 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on April 24.

A Georgia school bus was struck by a car backing out of a driveway Thursday morning, but no one in either vehicle was injured, Vermont State Police said.

Police reported Nikki Lavee, 19, of Georgia reversed a Ford Focus out of a driveway on Rounds Road in Georgia as a school bus driven by Cathy Boissonneault, 43, of St. Albans drove past to make rounds for school pickup.

After it was struck, the bus continued for several more feet, which caused damage to the Ford’s rear left panel and trunk, a VSP press release said, and the bus was scuffed on the rear right corner.

When police arrived around 7:30 a.m., the bus was parked along the side of the road, and the car was parked at the end of the driveway.

Two children and one aide were on board the bus at the time, police said, but there were no injuries, and all parties involved refused medical attention. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts, the news release said.

The Georgia man accused of killing one man and critically wounding another outside his home in January was released on $10,000 bond on April 17.

The bond for 27-year-old Ethan Gratton represents the required 10 percent of the $100,000 bail set by Franklin County Judge A.G. Rainville on April 17, court documents show.

Gratton was allowed to return to his parents’ custody to await trial. The lifelong Georgia resident with no criminal history is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, both felonies with the potential for life imprisonment.

Ethan Gratton, 26, appears in Franklin County Superior Court with defense attorney Rosie Chase on Wednesday, Jan. 18 for his first bail hearing. (File pool photo by Gregory Lamoureux/County Courier)

Rainville’s order comes more than three months after the Jan. 2 incident, which occurred in or around the driveway of Gratton’s Georgia Mountain Rd. home.

Two Fairfax men, David Hill and Mark Brito, were logging in the area and attempted to turn around in Gratton’s driveway, court records show. Evidence indicates Hill punched Gratton, who then shot both men.

Hill, 57, died on scene from his injuries, while Brito, 27, was critically injured but ultimately survived.

Gratton’s defense team first argued for bail in Franklin County Superior Court 13 weeks ago. After a second hearing February 22, Rainville took the matter under advisement.

On Monday, the judge ruled the state failed to prove some elements of the charges, rendering Gratton eligible for release on bail.

The nine-page order cites Gratton’s medical records, sealed once entered into evidence. A Jan. 21 neurological evaluation found Gratton sustained “a relatively severe concussion with diffuse brain injury.”

A Feb. 2 psychiatric exam corroborated the first report and also weighed Gratton’s risk of suicide, a factor Franklin County state’s attorney Jim Hughes used to argue against setting bail.

The exam, however, determined Gratton’s strong family connections and stable employment presented “decidedly more factors that augur against a high suicide risk.”

It also said Gratton’s avoiding substance use, returning to familiar circumstances and seeking mental health treatment for posttraumatic stress could alleviate any such risk.

Next, Rainville determined the state had no evidence proving intent and unlawfulness, though he wrote that Gratton’s admissions recorded on his mother’s 911 call sufficiently established Gratton killed Hill.

Rainville said the fact that one or both men assaulted Gratton before he shot them raised questions about his intent and suggests he was provoked.

Evidence indicates Hill – a 6-foot tall, 300-pound man – was significantly larger than Gratton, who is five-foot-seven and around 205 pounds. One or both men hit Gratton “with a great deal of force,” Rainville wrote, leaving him with a concussion, fractured nose and broken tooth.

The concussion could equate to diminished mental capacity, Rainville wrote.

“Either of these inferences, if proven, would be enough to negate the element of intent,” he said.

The state also failed to prove unlawfulness, Rainville ruled, acknowledging the “well-established doctrine of self-defense” in case law.

Full context of the day’s events are unclear. Testimony failed to establish the direction Hill faced when he was shot, the angle or distance the shots were fired and the number of times he was shot, Rainville wrote, noting evidence “strongly supports” Gratton was struck in the face before he shot either man.

Other facts remain ambiguous, the judge said, including whether Gratton was carrying his gun when the assault occurred or if he left the scene to retrieve it, where and how the altercation occurred and if Hill and Brito acted together or separately in threatening Gratton.

Because the state failed to prove Gratton didn’t act in self-defense, it therefore couldn’t prove the unlawfulness element, Rainville said.

He found the same factors apply to the attempted second-degree murder charge. Therefore, he said, evidence of guilt was not great, leaving Gratton eligible for bail on both counts.

Rainville ordered nine conditions of release for Gratton, including not contacting Brito and staying 300 feet away from him, his home or work; not having, buying or using alcohol, weapons or regulated drugs; remaining in his parents’ custody and obtaining written court permission to stay anywhere else.

Rainville also deemed Gratton a low flight risk, stating the man’s strong, lifelong ties to Vermont and lack of criminal record present “an unusually stable and law abiding history.”

Rainville rejected the state’s argument that Gratton “generally exhibits extreme anger,” though conceded his recent violent acts raised questions about “his character and mental condition.”

Deeming the state’s argument “unpersuasive,” Rainville said he doesn’t believe Gratton is a danger to others or himself, despite Gratton threatening to kill himself “in the heat of the moment.”

“The nature and circumstances of the offenses charged strongly suggest this event is an aberration in an otherwise law-abiding life unique to the circumstances,” Rainville wrote, noting the dispute “had tragic consequences.”

Gratton is next due in court May 16.