None of the officials involved in the case of a Vermont State Police trooper cited into court for an arraignment this week will say what made it disappear.
Paul Pennoyer, 29, of Barre Town, was set to be arraigned Thursday in Washington County Superior criminal court on a charge of unauthorized access stemming from his work as a state police trooper.
State police issued a press release last month, stating that Pennoyer was issued a citation Jan. 25 to appear for an arraignment, scheduled for Thursday, on the misdemeanor charge.
Police said an investigation found that Pennoyer previously obtained consent to search a suspect’s cell phone as part of a police investigation, and during that search, he got login credentials for the suspect’s Facebook account.
Pennoyer then continued to use those Facebook credentials without the person’s consent, according to the release. In July 2022, Pennoyer accessed the Facebook account and read private messages in an attempt to find the person after a motor vehicle pursuit, the release stated.
On Thursday afternoon, a court official said in an email that there was no public information that could be provided on the case.
Tracy Shriver, the Windham County state’s attorney whose office was prosecuting the case, issued a similar reply when asked about the status of the case.
“There is no information that I can provide to you,” Shriver wrote in an email response to questions about the case’s status.
Shriver’s office took over the case to avoid a conflict of interest with the Washington County state’s attorney office.
The Times Argus first reported on the mystery surrounding Pennoyer’s case Thursday.
David Sleigh, a St. Johnsbury defense attorney, confirmed he had represented Pennoyer, but said there was nothing more he could say on the matter.
Robert Sand, a Vermont Law and Graduate School professor and former Windsor County state’s attorney, said Friday he was not privy to the details to the case and declined to talk specifically about it. However, he spoke generally about criminal cases where parties say they can’t discuss it due to confidentiality reasons.
“When the court diversion statute was amended, confidentiality attached immediately once the case got sent,” he said, adding that he has sought information in such cases and received similar responses from the court and prosecutor that no information was publicly available.
“If a prosecutor and the court gave me that response, I would be inclined to think it got referred to diversion,” Sand said.
Diversion is a restorative justice alternative to the standard court process.
If a case had been dismissed, Sand added, both the court and prosecutor could say that has happened.
Rory Thibault, former Washington County state’s attorney, said Friday one of his last acts in that office was to write a Brady letter regarding Pennoyer. Thibault departed the office in January after he unsuccessfully ran for election as Vermont attorney general.
Brady letters are filed when an officer’s credibility is called into question. They can be used by a defense attorney to question the credibility of an officer, serving as the law enforcement equivalent of a scarlet letter.
Thibault did not have access to the letter Friday and referred questions about obtaining it to the new Washington County state’s attorney, Michelle Donnelly. Donnelly did not return a phone call Friday afternoon seeking comment
Pennoyer has been on paid leave since July, according to state police. He joined the ranks in July 2018, and has been assigned to the Derby barracks since his graduation from the Vermont Police Academy in January 2019.
Adam Silverman, a state police spokesperson, referred specific questions about the criminal case and court process to the attorneys handling it. Silverman also stated that as of Thursday, Pennoyer was on unpaid relief from duty.
Prior to that, Pennoyer had been on paid relief from duty.
Asked in a follow-up email about the change for Pennoyer from paid to unpaid leave, Silverman replied, “We don’t have any further information we’re able to share due to confidentiality requirements.”
