In Barre, Vermont, Patrol Officer Zak Winston, 34, is facing a bizarre criminal charge that he first stole his neighbor’s television from under her Christmas tree and then, after police came to his house, tossed the TV into the Winooski River.
Winston insists that he is innocent. His boss, Police Chief Timothy Bombardier is investigating, but has insisted that it remains a personnel matter. It is also a criminal matter and it is unclear why it is still viewed as a personnel matter after an arrest.
Winston had reportedly been drinking that morning at an Irish bar. The neighbor, Denise Matheson, 35, called police to say that a man had entered her apartment and stole her new 42-inch LED flat-screen TV from under her Christmas tree. Officers found the box outside of Winston’s apartment door, but Winston refused to let them enter without a warrant. He eventually agreed to a search but asked for them to wait for him to check his baby. One of the officers behind the building then allegedly saw Winston attempt to throw a TV off the balcony of his apartment and into the river.
That is a pretty damning report, but Winston told the court that he is completely innocent. Of course, this is not the first time that someone was accused of such thefts at Christmas but he ultimately returned the goods rather than tossed them over a cliff as intended.
Source: Burlington and Reddit.
Jonathan Turley
This article is about my friend Denise Matheson. I believe her account of it because she called me at 2:30am after it happened. She went in to a coma early in July 2011 and last I knew had not come out of it. I do suspect that foul play could have been involved. If you or any one know of anything about her could you contact me. jessicatyler143@aol.com
Hell, he could at least have donated it to a childrens’ charity…
Buddha,
On that off chance…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohpVs7eaFB0&fs=1&hl=en_US]
“Gnomus” starts at 1:10 or so
There’s also a chance that evil television gnomes stole it in the night and tried to toss it out the window.
Not a good one . . . but there is a chance.
Any chance he is protecting his klepto girlfriend that might be the mother of his children?
Blouise,
Yeah, count me in as well. I didn’t catch that extra “n” in that word. 🙂
In other posting, about a Oklahoma man who has a gun fetish who shot his wife, there was “Canadian County Judge” deciding on his case and I was wondering why a Judge from Canada would be involved with a case that didn’t happen in Canada then I realized it is “county” not “country”.
Yep, this blog does require a very careful reading!
Blouise,
Thanks for clarifying… Sometimes I need to slow down and read, before commenting. 🙂
anon nurse,
“Barre City Police Chief Timothy Bombardier said Monday that Winston has been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation. Winston has worked for the department for about 2½ years, Bombardier said. He would not comment further on the charges Winston is facing.
“From our end, it’s a personnel matter, and we don’t talk about personnel matters,” Bombardier said.”
He is conducting an internal investigation and can not comment on “personnel” who work for the department while such a departmental investigation is ongoing … the Union might sue him or he might say something to jeopardize the investigation’s outcome. Best to keep his mouth shut. He’s probably following the advice of the department’s lawyers or the City Attorney.
rafflaw
Me too – though, sadly, I haven’t yet found any Irish ancestors. Almost every thing else from western Europe, but no Irish. (Sigh)
Buckeye,
You are probably right! Especially after two or three drinks, this Irishman becomes very congenial.
rafflaw
I thought, never having been concerned about the ethnicity of any bar I patronized, that an Irish bar might be more congenial. I could be wrong.
Are more officers being caught and charged or is it just being reported more?
Buckeye,
Easy on the Irish! This guy should lose his job as a police officer and maybe spend some alone time in a cell for a few years. That will straighten out his thinking.
Cops steal. I don’t mean all of them but they do steal.
I remember after hired by a department which doesn’t provide lockers and I asked if I could leave my patrol bag inside the department equipment room so I don’t have to carry it back and forth from home.
“No, other will probably steal it.” My FTO told me. I asked him, “are you serious? Cops here steal stuff?”
He laughed at me and said “just because they’re cops doesn’t mean they won’t commit crimes.”
So, I’m not surprised when I read about this.
As for “personal matter”, that chief is opening himself up to being questioned for his judgments.
I barely skimmed the article…
“Also, after reading that article I believe I more clearly understand why the Chief made the comment he did.”
I don’t…. 🙂 Please shed light…
Well, the winters are long in Vermont and December is only about 1/3 of the way through and there’s not much else to do there anyway…
I think maybe his decision to drink at an IRISH bar, in the morning, may have been the problem.
anon nurse,
From the link you provided …”Prosecutors charged Winston with burglary, unlawful trespass, unlawful mischief and resisting arrest” … where’s the obstruction charge … according to the affidavit he admitted throwing the TV into the river because “I didn’t want stolen property in my house.” With that admission, how hard is it to prove he was obstructing?
Also, after reading that article I believe I more clearly understand why the Chief made the comment he did.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110103/NEWS07/110103011/Barre-police-officer-denies-stealing-neighbor-s-TV
An update. And what Blouise said.
After reading this blog for a year and a half and becoming familiar with terms used by lawyers to describe events, let me see if I’ve got this right.
An off-duty cop (unknown if he was carrying a gun) allegedly broke into someone’s home and stole a TV. He then allegedly attempted to obstruct the police by throwing said TV off his balcony before letting the police into his home. Breaking and entering and obstruction are felonies right? The degree of the felony could increase if the thief was carrying a gun?
Yet his boss, Police Chief Timothy Bombardier insists that this is a personnel matter. Is he also obstructing?
Wow a Grinchy cop, who knew…………must be the water in Barre eh…….lol