Post by Shuftin on Jan 5, 2007 10:30:30 GMT -5
January 5, 2007
By BOB AUDETTE
BRATTLEBORO -- Charges against a former Vermont state trooper accused of trying to destroy evidence and assaulting his ex-girlfriend were dismissed Wednesday after he agreed to plead guilty to four misdemeanors.
According to documents filed in Windham District Court, David Lay, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of violation of a protective order and two counts of violating the conditions of his release.
As part of his plea agreement, Lay must perform 140 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,484 in fines.
Lay was originally charged with two counts of obstruction of justice after he was accused of asking a fellow trooper to destroy evidence in 2005. Later that year, in October, he was charged with aggravated domestic assault, unlawful restraint, sexual assault and domestic assault after his alleged victim's mother filed an abuse complaint with police.
In the original affidavit, Lay was also accused of first-degree attempted murder after police accused him of choking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
Much of the case against Lay fell apart after his alleged victim wrote a letter to the court stating "I believe I was manipulated and used as a political pawn in the case against David Lay."
In her letter, the woman wrote that Lay "never intentionally tried to inflict bodily harm to me and our sex life and personal life has now become something out of a nightmare."
In signing off on the plea agreement, Deputy State's Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver said the woman's testimony "certainly weighed heavily in the consideration" to dismiss the remaining charges.
"I have an obligation to proceed with cases that have a reasonable chance of being proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said Shriver, who had no other comment on the dismissal.
A statement from David Gartenstein, the deputy state's attorney who prosecuted Lay on the obstruction charges, echoed Shriver's comments.
"The court issued a decision on the elements of the offense which created certain evidentiary hurdles for the state," he said. "In light of the defendant's plea agreement on other charges, the state was willing to dismiss the obstruction charges in consideration for the global resolution."
Lay, who had been dismissed from the state police after charges were filed, had been out on bail while his case made its way through court. While out on bail, in late 2005, Lay exchanged a number of phone calls with his ex-girlfriend, a violation of his release conditions. According to the affidavit, Lay placed 242 phone calls to the woman's number between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15, 2005. The woman placed 143 calls of her own to Lay.
After the alleged victim testified during the dismissal hearing, the state dropped the felony aggravated domestic assault and sexual assault charges. It asked the court to continue to proceed on two counts of obstruction of justice for his alleged illegal actions as a state trooper. It also let stand charges of domestic assault and unlawful restraint.
"David admitted to calling (his ex-girlfriend) on two occasions," said Lay's attorney, David Sleigh, of Sleigh and Williams in St. Johnsbury, about the plea agreement. Sleigh said the phone calls were made in response to messages left by Lay's ex-girlfriend, that indicated she was suicidal.
"He was acting humanely, even though there was a protective order in place," said Sleigh, who added his client had accepted responsibility for his "technical transgression."
Sleigh did not back down from his comments from last year when he said the prosecution of David Lay was "puritanical." He said "police didn't like the idea" of the sex acts described in court documents, including asphyxiation.
"It's not everyone's cup of tea," said Sleigh, about the practice. "It certainly was theirs. The initial police investigation didn't get the full picture. It was their own bias that made them jump the gun.
During testimony at various court hearings, said Sleigh, his client's alleged victim "tried to make it clear that this was consensual. Stuff she enjoyed."
According to documents filed with the court, the woman told police details about her life with Lay, saying that Lay had not only threatened to kill her, but also told her how he was going to dispose of her body. Lay was accused of punching and slapping his ex-girlfriend and choking her into unconsciousness on several occasions. She told police that at one point, she was in fear for her life.
"Things got made bigger than they really were," she later said, about the charges against Lay.
In April 2006, she testified during a dismissal motion that police used her deposition to give the appearance that their "rough sex life" was actually abuse on Lay's part. During her testimony, she said Lay often choked her during sex because the asphyxiation heightened her sexual pleasure.
Lay continually denied the woman's accusations, at one point saying she was angry with him for breaking off their three-year relationship.
Though the woman denied the major charges that were filed against her ex-boyfriend, in September 2006, she told the Reformer "What he did was not right. He shouldn't do that to women."
Though Lay declined to talk with the Reformer, his attorney said he hopes his client "can resume his life with some degree of satisfaction. It has been derailed for two years and will take a lot of sustained effort for him to resume his career."
Sleigh said there are no legal restrictions on Lay's ability to carry a weapon or continue his career in law enforcement. A protective order that prohibited him from carrying weapons was tossed out last spring.
But it's not common practice for Vermont State Police to rehire former troopers, said Col. James Baker, head of the force.
Speaking only about the hiring protocol, Baker said those who want to be rehired within a year have to have an updated background check. Others, who left the state police for more than a year, face the entire testing process, including a full background investigation, Baker said.
"A conviction of any crime is a reason for us not to hire anyone," he said.
www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_4954597
By BOB AUDETTE
BRATTLEBORO -- Charges against a former Vermont state trooper accused of trying to destroy evidence and assaulting his ex-girlfriend were dismissed Wednesday after he agreed to plead guilty to four misdemeanors.
According to documents filed in Windham District Court, David Lay, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of violation of a protective order and two counts of violating the conditions of his release.
As part of his plea agreement, Lay must perform 140 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,484 in fines.
Lay was originally charged with two counts of obstruction of justice after he was accused of asking a fellow trooper to destroy evidence in 2005. Later that year, in October, he was charged with aggravated domestic assault, unlawful restraint, sexual assault and domestic assault after his alleged victim's mother filed an abuse complaint with police.
In the original affidavit, Lay was also accused of first-degree attempted murder after police accused him of choking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
Much of the case against Lay fell apart after his alleged victim wrote a letter to the court stating "I believe I was manipulated and used as a political pawn in the case against David Lay."
In her letter, the woman wrote that Lay "never intentionally tried to inflict bodily harm to me and our sex life and personal life has now become something out of a nightmare."
In signing off on the plea agreement, Deputy State's Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver said the woman's testimony "certainly weighed heavily in the consideration" to dismiss the remaining charges.
"I have an obligation to proceed with cases that have a reasonable chance of being proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said Shriver, who had no other comment on the dismissal.
A statement from David Gartenstein, the deputy state's attorney who prosecuted Lay on the obstruction charges, echoed Shriver's comments.
"The court issued a decision on the elements of the offense which created certain evidentiary hurdles for the state," he said. "In light of the defendant's plea agreement on other charges, the state was willing to dismiss the obstruction charges in consideration for the global resolution."
Lay, who had been dismissed from the state police after charges were filed, had been out on bail while his case made its way through court. While out on bail, in late 2005, Lay exchanged a number of phone calls with his ex-girlfriend, a violation of his release conditions. According to the affidavit, Lay placed 242 phone calls to the woman's number between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15, 2005. The woman placed 143 calls of her own to Lay.
After the alleged victim testified during the dismissal hearing, the state dropped the felony aggravated domestic assault and sexual assault charges. It asked the court to continue to proceed on two counts of obstruction of justice for his alleged illegal actions as a state trooper. It also let stand charges of domestic assault and unlawful restraint.
"David admitted to calling (his ex-girlfriend) on two occasions," said Lay's attorney, David Sleigh, of Sleigh and Williams in St. Johnsbury, about the plea agreement. Sleigh said the phone calls were made in response to messages left by Lay's ex-girlfriend, that indicated she was suicidal.
"He was acting humanely, even though there was a protective order in place," said Sleigh, who added his client had accepted responsibility for his "technical transgression."
Sleigh did not back down from his comments from last year when he said the prosecution of David Lay was "puritanical." He said "police didn't like the idea" of the sex acts described in court documents, including asphyxiation.
"It's not everyone's cup of tea," said Sleigh, about the practice. "It certainly was theirs. The initial police investigation didn't get the full picture. It was their own bias that made them jump the gun.
During testimony at various court hearings, said Sleigh, his client's alleged victim "tried to make it clear that this was consensual. Stuff she enjoyed."
According to documents filed with the court, the woman told police details about her life with Lay, saying that Lay had not only threatened to kill her, but also told her how he was going to dispose of her body. Lay was accused of punching and slapping his ex-girlfriend and choking her into unconsciousness on several occasions. She told police that at one point, she was in fear for her life.
"Things got made bigger than they really were," she later said, about the charges against Lay.
In April 2006, she testified during a dismissal motion that police used her deposition to give the appearance that their "rough sex life" was actually abuse on Lay's part. During her testimony, she said Lay often choked her during sex because the asphyxiation heightened her sexual pleasure.
Lay continually denied the woman's accusations, at one point saying she was angry with him for breaking off their three-year relationship.
Though the woman denied the major charges that were filed against her ex-boyfriend, in September 2006, she told the Reformer "What he did was not right. He shouldn't do that to women."
Though Lay declined to talk with the Reformer, his attorney said he hopes his client "can resume his life with some degree of satisfaction. It has been derailed for two years and will take a lot of sustained effort for him to resume his career."
Sleigh said there are no legal restrictions on Lay's ability to carry a weapon or continue his career in law enforcement. A protective order that prohibited him from carrying weapons was tossed out last spring.
But it's not common practice for Vermont State Police to rehire former troopers, said Col. James Baker, head of the force.
Speaking only about the hiring protocol, Baker said those who want to be rehired within a year have to have an updated background check. Others, who left the state police for more than a year, face the entire testing process, including a full background investigation, Baker said.
"A conviction of any crime is a reason for us not to hire anyone," he said.
www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_4954597