[A] plea deal is in the works for a Killington man facing an involuntary manslaughter charge after one his bulls got loose from his fenced pasture, went onto Route 4, and was struck by a vehicle, killing the motorist.
Craig Mosher is set for a change of plea and sentencing hearing June 28 in Rutland Superior criminal court. Records don’t indicate what Mosher is set to change his plea to, or provide any information about a possible sentence.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy declined to comment on the case. Paul Volk, a Burlington attorney representing Mosher, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Mosher, the owner of an excavating company in Killington, pleaded innocent in April 2016 to the involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the death of Jon Bellis, 62, of Woodbridge, Connecticut. If Mosher is convicted, the charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
At his arraignment, a large contingent of farmers as well as friends of Mosher filled the courtroom. The case could set a precedent, and potentially hold farmers criminally responsible for the actions of animals that are on the loose.
Bellis was killed when the vehicle he was driving west on Route 4 at about 10:25 p.m. on July 31, 2015, struck the bull in the roadway, careened off the road down a small grassy hill and into a tree. His wife, Kathryn Barry Bellis, 60, a passenger in the vehicle, received injuries to her right wrist in the crash.
The bull, a 1,500 pound Scottish Highlander, was killed.
A grand jury in Rutland County brought an indictment against Mosher in connection with Bellis’ death, alleging he was criminally negligent. The charge claims Mosher had been informed on the night of the crash that was bull was loose but did not secure the animal or alert others that the Scottish Highlander was out.
Police said they had been called to Mosher’s property several times in the weeks leading up to the crash for reports of a loose bull.
About 30 minutes prior to the crash, the driver of a milk truck pulled into Mosher’s driveway along Route 4, knocked on the door and blared the truck’s horn to let him know about the loose bull. The driver said he had to stand on his brakes to avoid hitting the bull.
Mosher opened an upstairs window and the milk truck driver told him about the loose bull. Afterward, when he got cell service, the milk truck driver called police.
Later questioned by police, Mosher said he tried to find the bull, but couldn’t locate it.
“The defendant admitted that the milk truck driver woke him up and told him that his bull had been in the roadway and was down on the lawn of the Val Roc Motel,” Kennedy, the prosecutor, wrote in a court filing. “Defendant said that he did not look for his bull there, but rather only on his property, assuming the milk truck driver was wrong. Defendant said he did not see his bull so he went back inside his house and fell asleep.”
A witness, according to a police affidavit, estimated Bellis’ speed at between 30 to 40 mph at the time of the crash.
The next morning, police went to the property and discovered a section of the electric fence with an opening large enough for the bull to escape.
“It appeared that (a small apple tree) was pushed/bent over and went between the top and bottom wires,” the police affidavit stated. “When the force that bent the tree stopped, the tree returned to its natural upright position catching the top wire and lifting it approximately six feet off the ground.”
