Chester man denies charge of murder

A visiting prosecutor was highly critical of the county's state's attorney during a Chester man's arraignment on a murder charge Friday.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100501/NEWS02/5010356                     # # # #  Chester man denies charge of murder  •  Rutland Herald  •  By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: May 1, 2010  •  WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A visiting prosecutor was highly critical of the county's state's attorney during a Chester man's arraignment on a murder charge Friday.  • Kyle D. Bolaski, 26, pleaded innocent in White River Junction District Court to second-degree murder, 19 months after he was first charged with murder and more than a year after that original murder charge was dismissed.  •  Bolaski did not speak during a 45-minute proceeding that pitted Bolaski's attorney Kevin Griffin against Franklin County Deputy State's Attorney John Lavoie in a debate on the merits of holding Bolaski without bail. However, Lavoie also spared no words criticizing the work of the former prosecutor on the case and the man who asked Lavoie to take his place, Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand.  •  "A lot of mistakes have been made in this case from the get-go," said Lavoie of the way the case had been handled by Sand, who voluntarily withdrew from the case in March. "All I can say is I view this evidence much differently than Mr. Sand did."  •  Bolaski was originally charged with second-degree murder in August 2008 for killing Vincent Tamburello, 32, of Springfield. According to numerous witnesses, Bolaski and Tamburello — who had never met before — had a confrontation at MacKenzie Field in Chester. Tamburello chased Bolaski with a splitting maul and Bolaski drew a rifle from his pickup and shot Tamburello twice, with the fatal shot entering Tamburello's back, according to court records.  •  Affidavits state Bolaski didn't deny shooting Tamburello but claimed it was self-defense. Bolaski is also facing an assault charge for allegedly beating Tamburello in the face with the rifle stock as he lay dying, according to court records.  •  In November Sand dismissed the murder charge after a grand jury reviewed the evidence and decided there was not sufficient probable cause for either a murder or a manslaughter charge.  •  "Convening a grand jury because some of the evidence is difficult is a misuse of the grand jury," said Lavoie, who has never convened a grand jury.  •  Lavoie argued Bolaski should be held without bail on the murder charge because he is facing the possibility of life without parole if convicted. Griffin said Bolaski should remain free on bail because he was released on bail when he was arraigned for murder the first time and there is no new evidence in the case.  •  "Despite whatever has been said or quoted in the press, there has not been one new investigation, one new piece of evidence that has been turned over to us since the grand jury," Griffin said. "The only thing that's changed is who's prosecuting the case."  •  Lavoie argued the evidence presented to the grand jury was more than sufficient to support a second-degree or even a first-degree murder charge.  •  "He had a splitting maul in his hand. He did not use it to attack a person, but to attack the defendant's truck," Lavoie said. "You don't have the right to kill someone because they're beating up your truck."  •  In the end, Judge Theresa S. DiMauro declined to hold Bolaski without bail.  •  "The court cannot point to anything significant that has happened to justify holding him without bail," said DiMauro, who did raise Bolaski's bail from $10,000 to $100,000, either cash or bond. Bolaski was led from the courtroom to the holding area following his arraignment, and it is not clear if he made bail or not. The Department of Corrections did not list Bolaski as an inmate Friday evening.  •  The victim's father, Vincent Tamburello Sr., was pleased Bolaski is facing a murder charge.  •  "We finally have a prosecutor in there who is doing the right job. This should have been done at the very beginning," said Tamburello. "It's not that there's no new evidence. This is the evidence they had all along that they haven't worked with."  •  When reached for comment Friday evening, Sand had nothing to say in reply to Lavoie's criticism.  •  "John is an independent prosecutor and he can do what he wants," Sand said. "I'm no longer involved in the case and I have no comment."  •