The Vermont Supreme Court has affirmed a trial court’s decision to release on bail a Bennington man charged with being an accessory to a crime following the shooting death of a teen in 2022.
The trial court had ruled out the possibility of detaining him without bail, which prosecutors challenged.
The defendant, Shawn Bulson III, is facing a felony charge of being an accessory after the fact. Court records show he has been released from jail on a $5,000 surety bond, which the Bennington Superior criminal court imposed.
After Bulson, 28, entered his not guilty plea in January, Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi asked the court to order him jailed without the option to post bail. Bianchi said Bulson helped the killers of 17-year-old Isaiah Rodriguez evade law enforcement after the teen’s shooting and that the assistance Bulson allegedly provided them links him to a “violent felony” — grounds for a no-bail hold.
Vermont State Police said three people shot Rodriguez at an improvised shooting range in Danby in February 2022 following a dispute over drug trafficking and a stolen gun. His body was found along a rural road with 16 gunshot wounds.
The state Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision released last week, upheld the bail decision of Superior Court Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady. The five justices said that, under Vermont law and case law from other jurisdictions, being an accessory after the killing does not involve violence, even if the killing was a violent act.
They also said a person charged with being an accessory after the fact cannot be liable for the violent acts committed by another. “Defendant can neither be held liable for the intent to kill Isaiah Rodriguez nor the commission of that crime,” their decision reads.
Bulson cannot be held without bail, they wrote, “even if the State must ultimately prove that the underlying felonious conduct involved an act of violence against another person.”
Besides Bulson, two other Bennington County residents have been arrested in Rodriguez’s killing. Ashley Wicks, 32, described in court documents as Bulson’s girlfriend, is also charged with aiding in the commission of first-degree murder and being an accessory after the fact.
Elijah Johnson, 22, is charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Wicks pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday morning. Both are detained while awaiting a hearing that would determine their bail status.
The trio accused of shooting Rodriguez have not yet been brought to court to answer to the allegations. According to newly unsealed documents, John Peña Baez, Joerick Johnson and Christopher Morgan are facing charges that include first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder — felonies punishable by up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Ashley Wicks’ custody status.
