The chief criminal investigator for the Vermont State Police said his agency is investigating a reported “domestic disturbance” at the Middlebury home of Addison County Sheriff Peter Newton in February.
Reached Tuesday, Newton said he had no idea such an investigation was taking place.
Capt. Jeremy Hill, who oversees the state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Vermont Intelligence Center, confirmed Tuesday that a probe is underway and has been for some time.
“There was a call for service for a domestic disturbance at the residence and as a result of that we were asked to do an investigation to determine if there had been any criminal law violations,” Hill said.
Since the investigation is ongoing, Hill said, he could not provide additional details, including the nature of the domestic disturbance.
Newton told VTDigger on Tuesday that Middlebury Police came to his home on Feb. 26. He said a woman in the home was intoxicated and acting “out of control” and that he had dumped out her wine.
Newton said the woman, who he would only identify by a first name, called 911, reporting that she was with the sheriff, that she was scared and that he had said he was “invincible,” which he denied saying to her.
Newton said he told the two Middlebury officers who responded that he wanted them to remove the woman from the residence.
“They wouldn’t,” Newton said of the officers. “They asked me to give her a ride somewhere. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
Newton said the woman ended up staying the night at the residence and left the next morning.
Asked if any physical abuse took place that night, Newton replied, “She kept grabbing me, but I kept walking away from her.”
Newton said he believed the matter was being raised now by people trying to “soil” his name as he runs for another four-year term as sheriff.
Middlebury Police Chief Thomas Hanley said Tuesday that officers from his department responded to a call just after midnight on Feb. 26 for a reported “dispute” between Newton and a woman at Newton’s home.
Hanley said officers who were at the scene didn’t find sufficient evidence to make any arrests.
“This was a dispute between two people over some personal things,” the police chief said.
Hanley said the woman was offered a ride to a different place to stay and access to social services but declined and wanted to remain at the residence.
The police chief said he asked Addison County State’s Attorney Dennis Wygmans to look over the case and provide a “third-party” review, since Newton at one time worked for the Middlebury Police Department.
“We’ve had a long relationship with Peter and we didn’t just want to dismiss this thing out of hand,” Hanley said.
He said he could not provide any records related to the case because it remains under investigation by state police.
Hill, of the state police, said he was contacted by Wygmans asking state police to conduct the investigation to avoid any conflicts of interest.
Wygmans this week said he had recused himself from the investigation, also to avoid any conflicts. He said he handed it off to Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault.
Thilbault would only say Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.
John Campbell, executive director of the state Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, said Tuesday he could not comment on an active investigation.
Both Thibault and Hill said there was no set timeline for when the probe may wrap up.
Newton won election as sheriff in 2018, finishing first in a three-person race to succeed outgoing longtime Sheriff Don Keeler.
Since becoming sheriff, Newton has been involved in some public controversies, including one with the Brandon town manager over the latter’s son’s traffic stop and access to information.
Also, Newton had alleged fraudulent conduct by Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel regarding timesheet reports. Attorney General TJ Donovan later announced he did not find evidence of fraud.