VTDigger covers crime, the court system, illegal drug use, law enforcement and prisons. Alan Keays covers the criminal justice system for VTDigger. He can be reached at akeays@vtdigger.org.
Patricia Duff, 60, was cited Thursday evening following an investigation by Vermont State Police. She will be arraigned next month on charges of false pretense and grand larceny.
Eleven part- and full-time deputies and all five of the department’s administrative staffers, also called duty clerks, will no longer work for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department when George Contois takes over next week.
Police are looking for Danny Daniels, 30, of Philadelphia in connection with a drug robbery and fatal shooting last month of 49-year-old Israel Jimenez Lugo, according to Vermont State Police.
James Hines, 53, was arrested last week and charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and crack cocaine. He’s the fifth person indicted on those charges. A sixth individual has been added to the indictment, but the person’s name is redacted.
State police are also investigating sheriff-elect John Grismore, who is slated to take office next month. Officials were mum on details about the investigation Thursday.
Paul Pennoyer, 29, of Barre Town, is scheduled to be arraigned next month on a charge of unauthorized access, according to Vermont State Police.
“The allegations against me are false and I have no intention of resigning,” Police Chief John Helfant said in an email to VTDigger.
In some cases, the bonuses exceeded the employees’ annual salaries, according to data released by the state auditor’s office.
The news organization argues that the state’s Public Records Act requires a public body withholding a public record to state what that document is and the reason for keeping it shielded. The state contends it has met its duty under law.
The student was attacked the night of Jan. 17 by a group of young people, a family member said, leaving the local neighborhood shaken.
