Man admits thefts in two counties, avoids jail

A Springfield man pleaded guilty to seven charges related to three incidents in three counties, including a copper theft that caused thousands of dollars in damage at a Londonderry home.
http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_26932856/springfield-man-admits-thefts-two-counties-avoids-jail

Springfield man admits thefts in two counties, avoids jail Admits crimes in two other counties By Michael Faher mfaher@reformer.com POSTED: 11/13/2014 07:10:50 PM EST UPDATED: ABOUT 14 HOURS AGO BRATTLEBORO >> A Springfield man pleaded guilty to seven charges related to three incidents in three counties, including a copper theft that caused thousands of dollars in damage at a Londonderry home. But Todd M. Gilchrist, 41, got a chance to avoid jail time and undergo treatment for alcohol problems when he was sentenced Monday in Windham Superior Court Criminal Division. Judge David Suntag warned that the zero-to-three-year sentence he imposed could lead to prison time if Gilchrist gets into more trouble. "It's going to be up to you about whether you follow through or not," Suntag said. "A furlough sentence like this means they don't have to bring you back to court to put you back in jail." In the early morning hours of July 25, 2013, Vermont State Police Trooper Eric Vitali responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint on Route 100 in South Londonderry. Vitali found a Chevy Blazer — with its rear hatch and a rear door open — parked in a pull-off, but the driver pulled away when he arrived. "I believed that the operator could possibly be intoxicated," Vitali wrote in an affidavit. "I also observed the vehicle to have an unsecured load evidenced by objects falling from the vehicle." The Blazer stopped after a short pursuit, and Vitali said he noticed "copper pipes hanging out of the passenger-side door and large bags of copper in the rear of the vehicle." The operator was identified as Jodi L. Crawford, who told Vitali that she had been driving Shawn Holden "around on a 'booze cruise,'" according to the affidavit. She said Holden had exited the Blazer at one point and, after sending text messages asking Crawford to drive up the road and pick him up, began loading copper pipe into the vehicle. Holden fled when he spotted police, Crawford told Vitali. But the copper pipe was left behind; Vitali believed the pipe was stolen and he seized the Blazer. Later that day, a resident reported finding a bag filled with copper pipe near his South Londonderry home — less than a mile from where Crawford had been stopped. Police found a nearby home on Winhall Station Road that had been burglarized. "I checked the basement area and observed that a significant amount of copper, to include the brass and metal fittings attached to the copper, had recently been cut and removed," a trooper wrote in an affidavit. Damage at the South Londonderry home was estimated at $5,268. While checking Crawford's phone, police found a series of messages sent to and received from Gilchrist; investigators established that "Holden and Gilchrist were actually responsible for removing the copper from the residence." Holden was arrested Aug. 30, 2013, and police tracked down Gilchrist in Springfield several days later. Court records show that Holden has pleaded guilty to unlawful trespass and possessing stolen property, while Crawford pleaded to unlawful trespass and aiding in commission of a felony. In connection with the Londonderry incident, Gilchrist pleaded guilty to three felony counts — burglary, unlawful trespass and unlawful mischief greater than $1,000. He also entered pleas to burglary and petit larceny in connection with the June 25, 2013, theft of a chain saw in Peru, Bennington County. Additionally, Gilchrist pleaded guilty to DUI – his third – and giving false information to police in connection with a Sept. 6, 2012 incident in Ludlow, Windsor County. Both of those cases were transferred to Windham Superior Court. The DUI carries a mandatory minimum of 96 hours in prison, but authorities found that Gilchrist already had credit for serving more time than that. Given that he acknowledged trying to address alcohol problems and told Suntag that "I'd like the opportunity to just change my life," the judge decided on the zero-minimum sentence for the other crimes in order to give Gilchrist the opportunity to continue treatment. Suntag acknowledged, however, that the arrangement could be changed by the disposition of a case in New Hampshire, where Gilchrist faces a felony drug-possession charge.