http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150428/NEWS02/704289875
‘Uncooperative witnesses’ delayed Smith’s arrest
By Susan Smallheer
Staff Writer | April 28,2015
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SPRINGFIELD — Uncooperative witnesses in the Gregory A. Smith murder investigation delayed his arrest for two to three days, Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said Monday.
Johnston attended the Springfield Select Board meeting Monday night to give them a brief update of the investigation.
“We had some uncooperative witnesses,” Johnston said. “Without those uncooperative witnesses we would have had people in custody in two, three days earlier.”
Johnston said Sunday that a third person would face criminal charges for interfering with the investigation; he said those charges would be filed in the future.
While Smith, 30, of Springfield, has been charged with second-degree murder, two of his girlfriends have been charged with interfering with the police investigation. Smith is charged with the shooting death of Wesley Wing, 37, of Springfield, after Wing confronted Smith’s girlfriend about drug activity in his neighborhood.
Wendy Morris, 25, of Springfield, has pleaded innocent to charges of accessory after the fact, while Kristin Walsh, 29, of Keene, N.H., is charged with hindering the police investigation and intimidating witnesses. A hearing on Walsh’s case is slated for Wednesday in Keene. She is being held on $20,000 cash bail, while Morris was released on a non-cash appearance bond.
Smith has been ordered held without bail.
Johnston said that even with the arrest last week, his department was continuing to work on the investigation, including conducting follow-up interviews.
“It’s still ongoing,” Johnston said. “There are a lot of follow-ups that we have to do.”
Johnston praised the cooperation the Springfield Police Department had with the Vermont State Police and its Bureau of Criminal Investigation at the Rockingham barracks, as well as the state police’s new Major Crime Unit. Additionally, Weathersfield and Chester Police helped on the night of the shooting. Springfield Police Department Detective Sgt. Patrick Call was the lead investigator, Johnston said.
“It was a team effort; every one was involved,” the chief said. “There were long, long hours put in by a lot of individuals last week,” he said.
Kristi Morris, chairman of the Springfield Select Board, expressed the town’s condolences to the Wing family, and thanked the police departments for all their work and their appreciation of the people involved.
Selectman Peter MacGillivray, who along with four of the five board members attended Sunday night’s community vigil for Wing, said he felt that the tragedy was bringing the town together.
“The community is working together and making every effort to make Springfield a better community,” MacGillivray said. He said that he, too, wanted to express “a heartfelt thank you” to the police department.
Like much of the community I have followed this story being left with a sense of bitter disgust. Gregory Smith is career criminal, priding himself as a thug. A unreformed sociopath who's actions were entirely predictable and avoidable Yet, those responsible for unleashing him on the community bear no accountability.
ReplyDeleteSmith has accrued eight felony convictions and multiple other arrests. Far more criminal acts than necessary to justifiably lock him away for life. However in an action that boggles a rational mind, the parole board declares him reformed and condones him sponging off an unemployed, welfare skank openly engaged in distributing heroin.
Now with a predictable chain of events having transpired where do we stand as a community? Instead of demanding Vermont parole board chair, Dean George address the community and explain himself, our community leaders engage in hand wringing and inane pleas to "come together" and "move ahead."
My question is, how many more Gregory Smiths are we dealing with?
7:32 poses an excellent question. How much longer will the good people of VT tolerate the injustices imposed upon them by a failed justice system? The marches that need to occur are not candlelight vigils in the streets of Springfield, but rather marches on the grounds of the state capital demanding that reforms be instituted that will protect the innocent and render swift and decisive punishment to the transgressors.
ReplyDeleteAs long as Springfield and the rest of the state remains docile and meekly gathers to sing kumbaya, the elected, appointed, and anointed ones whose jobs are to administer law, order, and justice will continue to ignore their plight.
A house cleaning of the legislative and judicial branches is long overdue in this state!
Oh but the wifey and I really enjoy singing kumbaya, and walking around and talking. It feels so supportive and healing, real Springfield Strong! Why it just makes my chest palpitate and it just really, really feels like action -- it may look like inaction, but it doesn't cost anything. And it makes wonderful advertising for the Town you see, and doesn't interfere with our wonderful entrepeneurs. And we get to talk about arresting people. They may beat us home from the court house, but someone has to take care of the kids you know.
ReplyDelete