A Williston Selectboard member pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he stalked his ex-girlfriend and vandalized her car.Â
Gordon St. Hilaire appeared in Chittenden County Superior criminal court for arraignment on charges of stalking and unlawful mischief. As part of the court-imposed conditions for his release, he must avoid contact with the alleged victim and her workplace.
He declined to comment following the arraignment.
In an affidavit written by Sgt. Eric Shepard of the Williston Police Department, authorities accuse St. Hilaire, 49, of letting the air out of his ex-girlfriend’s tires six times at her workplace, beginning in October.
The woman reported the incidents to police, and records show St. Hilaire was eventually caught when a Williston police officer waited outside the woman’s workplace and saw St. Hilaire approach the parking lot, carrying cartons of eggs. Police say St. Hilaire later admitted that he was there to “do some not good things” and said he was not handling the breakup well.
St. Hilaire also allegedly contacted a Williston police sergeant, Rick Greenough, via text message, asking that he look up a license plate belonging to a man who St. Hilaire thought was seeing his ex-girlfriend, according to an affidavit filed by Williston police.
St. Hilaire, who knew Greenough both personally as well as through his role as a selectboard member, is not facing charges for the license plate request, according to Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George.
“We still aren’t clear whether that violated any criminal statutes,” George said. “As of now, we don’t believe it did.”
The Williston Police Department referred VTDigger’s questions about the request to Town Manager Erik Wells, who would say only that “the sergeant acted appropriately in the situation” by denying St. Hilaire’s request and notifying a supervisor.
Wells would not comment on whether St. Hilaire could continue to serve on the selectboard, saying he would leave that up to the board chair.
In an interview Tuesday, Williston Selectboard Chair Terry Macaig said he did not anticipate that St. Hilaire would be removed from his selectboard post.
St. Hilaire first ran for the town’s selectboard unopposed in 2019. His current term expires in 2024, according to the town’s website.
St. Hilaire has worked as a teacher at Camel’s Hump Middle School in Richmond, according to the school’s website. He also has that role listed on a LinkedIn page under his name. In a news story from 2019 in the Williston Observer, St. Hilaire said he taught fifth and sixth grades.
School officials on Thursday did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation of St. Hilaire’s current employment status.