Jamie Ransom, 34, of Hill Street was arrested Thursday after a two-day investigation involving Barre and Waterbury police departments, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to Waterbury Police Chief Joby Feccia.
Ransom appeared with her lawyer Elizabeth Quinn in U.S. District Court in Burlington before Judge John Conroy on Friday on the gun charge, according to the criminal court clerk’s office. In the hearing, the government’s request for continuation of detention was granted, and Ransom is is scheduled for a detention hearing at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday with Judge Conroy.
Law enforcement officials arrested Ransom on Thursday night for being in possession of a Rossi Model S.A. .243 caliber rifle with an attached scope and a sling, according to court records.
Ransom had recently made threats toward her mother, who was acting as a caregiver for her children, over the phone and through text messages, Feccia said.
Ransom told officials Thursday that the rifle was located at a neighboring apartment, and Ransom’s boyfriend showed officials where the gun was located, according to court records.
Feccia said Ransom was “very cooperative” during the investigation.
Ransom “admitted that she had a prior felony conviction and had obtained the firearm even though she realized her felony should prevent her from possessing it,” ATF Special Agent Ben Cohen said in a court affidavit.
Ransom’s felony conviction stems from forging documents in 2006, according to court records. She was given one year of probation following the conviction.
Ransom told officials that she believed she could have a firearm because her conviction would not count after seven years, Cohen wrote in his affidavit. She said she bought the gun for a child.
Ransom’s case comes in the wake of the murder of Lara Sobel, a Department for Children and Families social worker who was killed with a rifle Aug. 7.
Jody Herring, the suspect in Sobel’s slaying, entered a plea of not guilty to a count of first degree murder of Sobel. Herring is also charged with aggravated murder in the killing of three relatives prior to Sobel’s death.
DCF security discussed
DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz told lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Child Protection Oversight Committee on Friday that in the month since the Sobel’s shooting, he has received 17 reports of threats made against department employees.
Incidents ranged from threats to slit a DCF worker’s neck to physical intimidation to punching a wall in a worker’s office, he said.
“The reality is, our staff are fearful, and legitimately so,” Schatz said.
Cindy Walcott, deputy commissioner of DCF, said that the impact of the four murders in central Vermont has had a “profound” impact on many of the community players who work with DCF social workers as well.
Mandated reporters — people required by law to notify DCF if they suspect a child is a target of neglect or abuse — have been scared by news reports that Herring was retaliating against three relatives she believed were in contact with DCF, she said.
Walcott said that the chilling effect of the Herring case extended to foster parents as well.
“I am concerned about our ability to really recruit and retain quality foster parents because of these events,” Walcott said.
