Video: Police arrest Springfield murder suspect

By Liz Strzepa Springfield shooting suspect arrested; police discuss next steps Shooting suspect Gregory Smith and girlfriend Wendy Morris were arrested in Londonderry on April 23 UPDATED 9:16 PM EDT Apr 23, 2015 NEXT STORY Springfield slaying suspect arrested Text Size:AAA SPRINGFIELD, Vt. —Vermont State Police arrested 30-year-old Gregory Smith and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Wendy Morris at the Winhall Brook Campground in South Londonderry around 10 A.M. April 23. RESIDENTS ARE 'SPRINGFIELD STRONG' AFTER SHOOTING Over 50 town leaders and community members met in Springfield April 22 to discuss how the community will move forward after the April 18 shooting death of 37-year-old Wesley Wing. MORE SPRINGFIELD RESIDENTS: 'READY TO MOVE FORWARD' "Today I'm feeling...not terrified," said Springfield resident Michael Dion. Dion and his family live just a few hundred feet from where police believe 37-year-old Wesley Wing was shot. MORE SPRINGFIELD SLAYING SUSPECT ARRESTED Vermont State Police have confirmed the arrest of a man accused in the shooting death of a Springfield, Vt. man over the weekend. MORE Click here to view the full WPTZ report. Police said the two were arrested without incident and taken into police custody. Smith led police on a five day manhunt before being found at the South Londonderry location. Police said they received word Smith had a friend who had a trailer at the campground, which led them to the site. “This was another location that we had to go check. We always assume that we could run into a person,” Vermont State Police Captain J.P. Sinclair said. Sinclair said police are looking to charge Morris with accessory. Smith is facing second-degree murder charges. Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said Smith had many connections nation-wide, and didn’t know where he could be. “He has ties outside the state, he’s had contacts outside the state…we didn’t know where he was going to be,” Johnston said. Sinclair said the arrests couldn’t have been done without the help of the community. Sinclair said police received numerous tips. “There are eyes and ears out there, we can’t be everywhere, every place 24-7, and honestly, the help from the community is tremendous,” Johnston said. Sinclair added, “on behalf of the State Police I want to commend the chief and his staff they were the lead in this investigation they did a fantastic job, and this community down here should be very proud of the work that they did.” Sinclair said both Smith and Morris will likely be arraigned in Windsor County District Court on April 24. Smith is accused of shooting 37-year-old Wesley Wing near South Street in Springfield on April 18. Police say, after being shot, Wing was able to make his way to Jake’s South Street Market where they received a call notifying them about the shooting. Wing was first taken to Springfield Hospital and later transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center where police say he died of injuries related to the 4 gunshot wound he sustained. Johnston said at the press conference that Wing and Smith were neighbors. The police chief said the two got into an argument when ultimately shots were fired. “We had a citizen that was confronting a person who he felt was dealing drugs. The information that we’ve gotten doesn’t indicate that there was a drug deal gone bad. It was basically an isolated incident, which resulted in an argument, which ended up resulting in the death of Wesley Wing,” Johnston said. Sinclair said the Vermont State Police’s special crimes unit helped lead to Smith’s arrest.