[B]ARRE — Before Henry Premont, 51, got in a standoff with police Wednesday a relative called police to say the Williamstown man was in her yard with a loaded gun making incendiary remarks.
Premont said that if approached by law enforcement “it would be Armageddon,” according to an affidavit filed at his Thursday arraignment on charges of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct — both misdemeanors. Premont pleaded not guilty to both charges through his attorney.
Premont is the former boyfriend of Jody Herring, 40, who is charged with murder in the killing of state social worker Lara Sobel last Friday. Herring is also the primary suspect in the triple homicide of three of her relatives that same day, though she has yet to be charged in those killings.
Premont left his relatives’ home in Williamstown before police arrived, but was found at a Shell gas station in South Barre a short time later. Police confronted him as he was exiting with two beers in his hands. He threw one down, drew a handgun from a hip holster and raised it in the air, according to the affidavit.
Officers drew their guns and ordered Premont to drop his weapon. When he did not comply, the officers took cover behind their cruisers.
During the roughly hour-long standoff that resulted, Premont attempted to provoke officers into shooting him, shouting obscenities and at one point asking officers to “blast him,” according to the affidavit.
He also repeatedly asked to see Herring. “Premont seemed to be focused on talking to Jody Herring,” the court document says. He told a crisis negotiator that he felt this was the only way he could get that opportunity. Premont thought his actions would “force our hands,” wrote state police Sgt. Todd Baxter in the affidavit.
Premont eventually agreed to step away from the .380 caliber handgun he had placed on the roof of a car, and officers took him into custody.
In court Thursday, Premont’s attorney questioned the reckless endangerment charge, saying that her client never pointed his gun at anyone, only raising it in the air.
State’s Attorney Scott Williams said that Premont was provoking officers to shoot him while standing in front the store’s glass paneling. There were multiple customers hunkered down inside the store, as well as the family that runs the gas station (which also operates as an Indian restaurant), throughout the altercation. Williams said Premont placed the bystanders in danger.
Superior Court Judge Kevin Griffin found there was probable cause for both charges.
Williams has recused himself from prosecuting the Herring case because he was among the first on the scene at the City Place state offices where Lara Sobel was shot. He wrestled the bolt-action hunting rifle from Herring.
Williams was with Sobel’s family when the standoff occurred on Wednesday. His office will handle Premont’s case, he said.
The state’s attorney said he’s “cautiously optimistic this [the standoff] is the last dramatic hiccup in this tragedy.”
After Premont was taken into custody Wednesday, he was taken to Central Vermont Medical Center for treatment. Sometime Thursday workers with the Department of Mental Health ordered a 72-hour emergency psychiatric hold for him. As a result, it was unclear for much of Thursday if Premont could be brought to court for his arraignment.
At one point, Williams had an arrest warrant issued that included $10,000 cash bail to compel Premont’s presence in court. The Department of Mental Health and hospital officials relented after a court order was issued for him to appear for the arraignment, but they requested Premont be returned to the hospital after the court appearance.
Premont was escorted into court by a sheriff’s deputy. Sheriff’s deputies provide secure transport for state psychiatric patients, and are presumed to be supervising Premont at the hospital.
Premont spoke only once during his arraignment to say he understood the conditions imposed as part of the proceeding. He must appear in court within 48 hours of being released from the hospital for a status conference to review the terms of his release. Premont must also abstain from alcohol, and he can’t return to the Shell station where the standoff took place.
He is also required to relinquish any firearms, or other deadly weapons he may own. Premont, his attorney and the state will coordinate to remove a muzzleloader from his home, the only remaining weapon in his possession, according to Maggie Vincent, his attorney, as supplied by the Defender General’s office.