A Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty from a hospital bed in Burlington to two felony charges stemming from an incident in which he was shot by police in Rutland.
Randy Perez-Coiscou, 21, entered not guilty pleas Wednesday in Rutland County Superior criminal court to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer.
Judge Cortland Corsones denied a prosecutor’s request to hold Perez-Coiscou in custody until the case goes to trial and instead set bail at $10,000. Perez-Coiscou was arraigned via video from the University of Vermont Medical Center, where he was still receiving treatment from his injuries.
The incident leading to the charges took place at about 8:30 p.m. Monday behind the Giorgetti Park. According to charging documents, Rutland Police Officer James Radja and a civilian riding along with him, 38-year-old Brandon Woodard, saw a “suspicious” vehicle parked there. Radja had previous “law enforcement interaction” with the vehicle, registered to Perez-Coiscou, according to the documents.
Radja identified the people in the vehicle as Perez-Coiscou and his twin brother, Andy Perez-Coiscou. The officer called for backup and Sgt. Andrew Plemmons arrived at the scene, the documents stated.
At one point, according to Woodard’s account, as Rajda began to open the driver’s side door of Perez-Couiscou’s vehicle, it appeared to be rolling forward.
Woodard then overheard the sergeant yelling, “Stop the car or I’ll shoot.”
The car kept moving forward and Plemmons fired about two to three times, Woodard told investigators, according to the charging documents. At the same time, Radja was trying to remove the driver from the vehicle, and was able to get out of the way of the still moving vehicle, the filing stated.
“The vehicle rolled away and out of sight from Woodard’s view alongside the police vehicle,” the charging documents stated. “It was at this time, Woodard described hearing another volley of fire of approximately 2-3 more shots.”
The car eventually crashed not too far away at the end of Oak Street Extension. Police said Rajda received a minor injury to one of his arms during the encounter. Vermont State Police reported it did not recover any weapons connected to the suspects.
Woodard, in a statement to police after the incident, reported that Radja told him as they approached the vehicle that the men inside were “bad people” and to “pay attention.”
As a result of the investigation, according to police, Randy Perez-Coiscou was arrested on two charges of felony aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He was turned over to the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections while remaining hospitalized.
Andy Perez-Coiscou received a citation on a charge of possession of fentanyl and is due in criminal court in Rutland on Aug. 14.
State police added that the investigation into the police shooting is continuing and investigators have obtained video from body-worn and cruiser cameras.
