RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont man charged with shooting and wounding two state police troopers and a disabled neighbor in his bed refused to appear in court Monday to answer four attempted murder charges, but his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The Rutland courtroom was packed with state troopers and others who waited almost two hours before the judge and the attorneys in the case appeared to say that Timothy Foley, of Leicester, was refusing to appear.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pratt allowed Foley’s attorney to enter the pro-forma not guilty plea to two charges of attempted murder and two counts of attempted aggravated murder. Foley was ordered held without bail.
Foley’s attorney, Mary Kay Lanthier, declined to comment after the hearing.
None of the three people Foley allegedly fired on with a shotgun were seriously injured.
Mahon McCoy, 64, was struck in the head by shotgun pellets while he slept in his bed in the town of Leicester, across the road from Foley’s home. McCoy is partially paralyzed due to a stroke several years ago.
“I’ve known their family my whole life,” said McCoy’s daughter, Robin Boyea, of Mariah, N.Y. “We all grew up together. The Tim Foley I know would not do this.”
Court documents said Foley, who is known to police to have a drug and mental health history, called police late Saturday night to report there was someone around his house screaming. The documents did not say if the Brandon police who investigated found evidence of screaming.
A round 3 a.m. Sunday, police received a 911 call from McCoy’s wife, saying her husband had been shot.
Court documents say police followed a trail of blood across the road to Foley’s home, where Foley fired at and hit two troopers. Trooper Matt Daley and Sgt. Eugene Duplissis were both hit in the head with shotgun pellets.
Duplissis returned fire before Foley ultimately surrendered. A 12 gauge shotgun was recovered from Foley’s home.
A Vermont State Police trooper had not been shot in the line of duty since 1990. It’s unclear if any officers from any other police agencies in the state have been shot since then.
But it was the second police-involved shooting in Vermont in two days. On Friday, a Brattleboro police officer shot and killed a suspect during the search of a hotel room that police said was drug-related.
Leicester is in Addison County, but there was no judge in court there Monday so the arraignment was moved to Rutland. Superior Court Judge Michael Pratt said another hearing would have to be scheduled in Addison County to complete the details of the arraignment.
Boyea and her sister, Sadie Mason, of Shoreham, could not offer an explanation for Foley’s alleged actions.
They were grateful for the state police’s actions and they said their father was due to come from the hospital later Monday.
“It’s a sad situation, no matter what,” Boyea said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.