A Brighton man appeared in court Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to blow up his neighbors’ home and vehicles.
Scott Buchman, 64, pleaded not guilty to a charge of domestic terrorism, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as other charges including aggravated assault and assault on law enforcement, related to a Monday night encounter.
Vermont Superior Court Judge Justin Jiron ordered Buchman held without bail. Buchman, who attended the hearing via video from Northern State Correctional Facility, will also receive a competency and sanity evaluation.
According to an affidavit written by state police trooper Aaron Leonard, Buchman pulled his Honda pickup truck into his neighbors’ driveway on Gideon Mill Road in Brighton around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. The neighbors — Robin Caldera Smith and Janet Rick — saw Buchman and a fire in their driveway, and Caldera Smith fired two warning shots toward Buchman.
“A burnt red plastic gas can was found at the base of the steps to the porch,” Leonard wrote in the affidavit. The can was a foot from one of the neighbors’ cars, 10 feet from a large propane tank, and near another of the neighbors’ vehicles. Rick extinguished the fire with water and a bag of mulch, Leonard wrote.
“Caldera stated she believed Buchman was attempting to kill her and Rick by setting the fire and she lived in constant fear of Buchman because of his use of fireworks, explosives, and possession of firearms,” Leonard wrote.
State police later followed Buchman, who had returned in his truck, back to his residence. Once there, Buchman appeared naked on his porch, shouting obscenities, police said. Police attempted to deescalate the situation by establishing communication, according to the court document.
Police said Buchman aimed a .22 caliber rifle at his head, threatening to shoot himself if the police did not shoot him first. Later, he “lit two explosive devices and threw them off his porch” toward state police, according to the affidavit. Buchman resisted arrest, police said.
Essex County State’s Attorney Vince Illuzzi said Buchman’s home and that of his neighbors are the only two permanent residences on the dead end street. Their driveways, roughly 100 feet apart, made preventing contact difficult, he said.
According to Illuzzi, an ongoing investigation indicated that a nearby camp had its windows blown out and suffered significant damage after explosives were set off nearby.
“There appears to be explosive devices used consistent with explosive devices found at Mr. Buchman’s residence,” Illuzzi said, adding that the neighborhood has been “essentially terrorized.”
