Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 19: May 8-14

LOCAL NEWS
2 • The Mountain Times • May 8-14, 2019
Police shoot Quechee man
following domestic assault
A suspect in a domestic assault received
treatment for non-life-threatening
injuries after he was shot by a state police
trooper Sunday night, May 5, in Hartford.
Police said Trooper Eric Vitali of the
Royalton Barracks shot James Luce, 19,
of Quechee after officers arrived to a
domestic assault call on Quechee at West
Hartford Road where Luce had fired his
gun at a home.
After Luce refused to comply with
officers to drop his weapon, Vitali shot
one time at Luce, which grazed his side
and left him with minor injuries. Police
officers also used a Taser to bring Luce
under control before he was taken into
custody and transported to a hospital for
treatment of minor injuries.
No police officers or other individuals
were injured during this incident.
Vitali was hired by the state police in
2005 and initially assigned to the Rockingham
Barracks. He transferred to the
Westminster Barracks in 2016 and the
Royalton Barracks in 2018.
Per standard Vermont State Police
policy, the trooper involved will be
Eric Vitali
placed on paid administrative leave for
a minimum of five days, after which the
trooper will return to administrative
duty while the investigation is under review
by the Vermont Attorney General’s
Office and the Windsor County State’s
Attorney’s Office.
Further information will be released
when it becomes available.
Anyone with information about this
incident is asked to call the Vermont State
Police in Royalton at 802-234-9933.
Submitted
Crews from different towns battled two destructive fires last week. An apartment home in Rutland
and the Benson Village Store were destroyed.
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‘Suspicious’ Rutland
fire displaces 10
Staff report
RUTLAND—The state police have
deemed a fire that left 10 people displaced
“suspicious.”
The Rutland City Fire Department
arrived at the fire at 75 Main St. in Rutland
around 5 a.m. May 1 and found a
two car garage near the house heavily
involved in fire.
“There was a heavy volume of fire
that the arriving crews were faced
with,” Rutland City Fire Chief Jim Larsen
said.
Larsen said a resident woke up in the
early morning and alerted the other
residents, who were safely able to
make it out of the building.
Larsen said there were no injuries to
residents or to the firefighters but there
was “significant damage” to the building
and the neighboring building, with
smoke and water damage throughout.
Larsen said it took about 30 minutes
to extinguish the flames.
THE POLICE ARE
OFFERING A $5,000
REWARD FOR
INFORMATION THAT
COULD HELP LEAD TO
AN ARREST.
The cause is under investigation.
Preliminary state police investigation
showed that this fire originated in
the rear southwest stairwell area of the
structure, according to a news release.
The fire travelled to a rear stairwell,
then spread throughout the structure
and roof areas.
Electrical and natural causes were
ruled out. A specific point of origin
could not be determined at the time
of the police report due to the almost
complete consumption of the area.
Anyone with any further information
on the fire is asked to contact
Det. Sgt. Tom Williams at the Rutland
Barracks, Rutland City Police Detective
Emilio Rosario, or call the Arson Tip
Award Line at 1-800- ARSON.
The police are offering a $5,000
reward for any information that could
help lead to an arrest.
Benson Village Store
destroyed in fire
Staff report
The historic Benson Village Store
has closed due to a fire last week.
“My guess is that it will be declared a
total loss,” said Benson Fire Chief Tom
Newmann.
The fire started around 2 a.m. April
29.
Store owner James Tillman, who
lived upstairs, was asleep at the time,
Newmann said.
“Before we arrived on scene, folks
had discovered the fire. While some
were calling 911, others were trying to
get him awake and out of the second
floor,” Newmann said.
Several people placed a 6 foot step
ladder in the bed of a pickup truck and
climbed up to the porch roof, broke
an upstairs bedroom window with a
broom and woke up Tillman.
Tillman had cuts on his hands from
climbing through the window, but he
was safe, according to a press release.
Newmann said the fire started in
the basement.
“The investigation is pointing it to
be an electrical start to the fire,” Newmann
said.
The historic building, which had
been through several renovations,
made it difficult for firefighters, Newmann
said.
“There were inaccessible areas,” he
said.
Newmann said they had to cut the
floorboards to get to the hot spots in
the basement because the stairwell to
the basement collapsed.
Firefighters remained at the store
for two days to fully extinguish the
flames.
“We had a lot of active fire,” Newmann
said.
The structure of the building also
made it unsafe for investigators to do a
complete investigation.
The fire travelled from the basement
up a rear stairwell, spreading
this fire throughout the structure and
roof areas.
Attempts to reach Tillman and
co-owner Robin Morzella weren’t
successful.
Tillman, who has owned the store
since 2017, said on Facebook that he is
working with insurance agents.