This story by Jordan Cuddemi was published by the Valley News on Aug. 20.
[W]HITE RIVER JUNCTION — Two Vermont men are being held without bail on kidnapping and other charges after police say they held a 22-year-old Windsor County man at gunpoint while they drove to Ludlow, where he was forced to break into a home at Okemo Mountain Resort before being hit by his captors’ SUV.
Tyler Marston, 31, of Chester, and Rey Early, 33, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in Windsor Superior Court to a slew of charges in connection with the alleged assault that put Alexander Jillson-Corbosiero in the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center with a lacerated spleen and liver over the weekend.
Both men face charges of kidnapping, inciting another to commit a felony, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and simple assault. In addition, Marston faces charges of gross negligent motor vehicle operation, leaving the scene of a crash where serious injury resulted, and operating a vehicle with a suspended license.
The maximum penalty for kidnapping in Vermont is life in prison.
During his arraignment on Monday, Marston, through his attorney Nikki South, argued against the hold without bail request from Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill.
Marston said the case lacked evidence to prove his role, something Judge Brian Grearson disagreed with.
“The court is satisfied from the affidavit of probable cause that the evidence of guilt is great in the case,” Grearson said from the bench.
Early didn’t contest the state’s hold without bail request on Monday.
Police said the incident began to unfold late Friday night, when Marston and Early picked up Corbosiero near a gas station in Windsor; Marston and Corbosiero, who had only met a few times, agreed that they would get together and smoke marijuana, according to an affidavit written by Ludlow police officer Ryan Palmer.
Early was in a Nissan Rogue SUV when Marston picked up Corbosiero, the affidavit said. Corbosiero said he saw a shotgun in the vehicle, but “did not think anything of it,” according to the affidavit.
Once inside, Corbosiero told police in an interview, Early pointed the shotgun at him and physically assaulted him while Marston drove toward Ludlow, according to Palmer’s affidavit.
When the men arrived outside a home on Upper Pass Road in Ludlow, Corbosiero said, Early threatened him with the gun while telling him to burglarize the residence, a request he complied with, according to the affidavit.
Shortly thereafter, Marston and Early left the residence, which is near Okemo’s Sachem ski trail, and Marston allegedly hit Corbosiero with the front passenger-side of the SUV and drove off, according to a separate affidavit written by Ludlow police Detective Richard King.
The injured Corbosiero crawled to a nearby residence, where someone called police.
The affidavits in the case don’t make clear why Marston and Early allegedly attacked Corbosiero, but when asked by police if he or a friend owed Marston money, Corbosiero told the officer that was possible.
Corbosiero was released from the hospital on Sunday, according to a Dartmouth-Hitchcock spokesman.
All three men have prior criminal records and are felons.
In addition to one felony conviction, Early has 15 misdemeanor convictions. Marston has two felony convictions and 14 misdemeanor convictions.
In November 2014, Corbosiero, then 18, pleaded guilty to retrieving and concealing a pistol that was taken during a home invasion in Springfield and then discarded on a nearby street.
Marston and Early are due back in court on Sept. 24.