Updated at 7:43 p.m.
The Rhode Island man wounded in a shootout Sunday night in Burke with police has been charged with three counts of attempted aggravated murder for allegedly opening fire on troopers after crashing his vehicle following a lengthy pursuit in northern Vermont.
Brenden Sackal, 30, of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, faces a total of 17 charges, according to court records filed Tuesday in Caledonia County Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury stemming from the shootout and chase that left him hospitalized.
None of the troopers who state police said returned fire were injured.
Sackal, according to a Vermont State Police release announcing the charges late Tuesday afternoon, was shot “multiple” times and was in critical, but stable condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
State police have described his injuries as non-life-threatening.
A 14-page affidavit by state police Detective Sgt. James Vooris filed in court Tuesday supporting the charges against Sackal provided new details into the chase that began Sunday evening in northern New Hampshire and ended with a shootout later that night in Burke.
Sackal, who was wanted in Rhode Island for allegedly illegally possessing high-capacity firearm magazines, had been spotted by U.S. Border Patrol agents in northern New Hampshire, according to the filing.
Vooris wrote that the border patrol agents used spike strips to try to stop Sackal’s pickup truck, but despite deflating all four tires he continued to flee, driving on the wheels’ rims at what state police described as “low speed” for another roughly 30 miles into Burke.
Vermont State Police troopers eventually joined the pursuit with Trooper Jesse Nash reporting that, at one point, state police Sgt. Joshua Mikkola pulled his cruiser in front of Sackal’s vehicle to try to stop him, the affidavit stated.
Sackal crashed into the back of Mikkola’s cruiser, but continued to flee, heading south on Route 114, the detective wrote in the filing.
Nash reported that he and Trooper Richard Berlandy passed Mikkola and continued to follow Sackal. When Berlandy tried to pass Sackal’s vehicle, Sackal rammed his pickup into the back of Berlandy’s cruiser, the affidavit stated.
Sackal’s vehicle eventually came to a stop partially in a ditch and partially in the roadway, according to the filing.
A review of cruiser dash cam and police body cam footage showed that when Sackal’s vehicle came to a stop it was “in contact” with Berlandy’s cruiser, the filing stated.
“Approximately 6 seconds after Sackal’s vehicle comes to a stop, rapid succession gunfire, consistent with automatic gunfire, is heard and muzzle flash is observed near the driver side rear of Sackal’s vehicle,” the affidavit stated.
“Sackal is then observed retreating away from his vehicle while appearing to fire his gun at Trooper Berlandy,” the filing added. “Trooper Berlandy appeared to be pinned in his vehicle, unable to open his door due to the collision, and returned fire with his pistol from inside his cruiser while yelling, ‘shots fired.’”
At about the same time, the affidavit stated, Mikkola exited his vehicle and fired his pistol at Sackal, who at that moment was standing on the front lawn of a single-family residence on Route 114 in Burke.
Sackal was then seen falling to the ground in a grassy area near a tree in the front yard of the residence, according to the filing.
“As Sackal falls to the ground,” the affidavit stated, “gunshots are heard that are consistent with shots being fired by semi-automatic pistols and there appears to be muzzle flash from Sackal’s direction.”
The shooting paused for about 3 seconds before Sackal was seen raising a firearm and firing in the direction of Berlandy, Nash and Mikkola, according to the affidavit.
“The gunshots heard are in rapid succession and consistent with automatic gunfire,” the filing stated. “Immediately after the gunfire, Sackal appears to drop the firearm and surrender to law enforcement.”
Sackal was taken into custody in the front yard of the residence and received medical care before being transported by ambulance to the hospital, the filing stated.
Vermont State Police crime scene investigators found “37 spent 5.56 cartridge casings in the immediate area where Sackal was observed on video,” the filing stated. Also, according to the affidavit, there were “4 spent 40 caliber cartridge casings” found in that same area.
Firearms and high-capacity fire magazines believed to belong to Sackal were seized at the scene from inside and outside his vehicle, the filing stated.
Investigators also found a “ballistic helmet” with an “apparent projectile defect” on it on the lawn, the filing stated.
Both Berlandy and Mikkola fired their department-issued 9 mm handguns, the filing stated, though it’s unclear from the document how many shots they fired, and if just one, or both, fired shots that struck Sackal.
“The four .40 caliber spent cartridge casings and the 37 spent 5.56 caliber cartridge casings are believed to have been fired by Sackal,” the affidavit stated.
The two troopers who fired their weapons, Berlandy and Mikkola, have been placed on paid leave as per standard protocol following a police shooting.
In addition to the three counts of attempted aggravated murder, Sackal faces three charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle, attempted to elude police and seven counts of possession of a large capacity immunity feeding device.
If convicted of the attempted aggravated murder charges alone, Sackal faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Police said law enforcement had conducted a search of Sackal’s residence Friday in Rhode Island but were not able to find him.
The Providence Journal, in a story on its website Tuesday, reported that Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said what the police found in Sackal’s home was “very alarming.”
Inside the home, the article stated, police found several guns, ammunition, high capacity magazines and a Kevlar vest and Kevlar helmet.
Police had searched Sackal’s home, according to the article, after a bullet was found in the air-conditioning unit in a neighbor’s residence.
Three of the guns found inside Sackal’s residence were untraceable because they didn’t have serial numbers and police also found a stolen police radio and evidence that he was making guns and “stockpiling” ammunition, the news report stated.
Referring to the Vermont shooting, Carrier reportedly told the Providence Journal of Sackal, “It’s my understanding he came out hot,” adding, “It was one hell of a firefight.”
