Newport
Sullivan County Superior Court Judge Brian Tucker agreed with the bail recommendation from Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway and rejected the $10,000 cash or surety sought by Buzzell’s public defender Meredith Lugo, who said her client’s crimes were property related and he was not a flight risk because he has a home in Claremont.
“In light of the criminal history that includes crimes of violence, cash bail and the apparent strength of the state’s case and potential for a long period in jail if convicted, $250,000 is not inappropriate,” Tucker said.
Buzzell, 41, initially was charged with receiving stolen property at his probable cause hearing last month. He was indicted on three additional charges on May 25: simple assault against another prisoner at the Sullivan County House of Corrections on May 20; falsifying physical evidence; and criminal solicitation of stolen property.
The falsifying physical evidence charge stems from allegations Buzzell hid some of the gold and silver coins stolen from the River Road home of Christine Beebe, who was alone at the time of the invasion, off Chandlers Mill Road in Newport on May 5, 2015. The solicitation charge alleges Buzzell informed his wife, Sarah Carr, on where to find the stolen coins during recorded phone conversations in late March of this year, while he was jailed on another charge.
In making his plea for a high bail, Hathaway said the “underlying seriousness of the charges” and Buzzell’s lengthy criminal record make him a likely flight risk and a danger to the community.
Buzzell, who appeared via video from the Sullivan County House of Corrections, was arrested on May 18, the day he was released from jail on an unrelated parole violation and the same day the coins were located by law enforcement authorities in the woods off Chandlers Mill Road.
Hathaway read off Buzzell’s criminal record, which dates to 1993 and includes numerous charges from simple assault, shoplifting, burglary and fugitive from justice from South Carolina to first-degree assault and arson in Vermont.
He also recounted from the sealed affidavit a series of events over the past year, from the May 3, 2015, home invasion to Buzzell being caught on tape pawning gold and silver in New York City a day after the home invasion to the March phone calls to his wife.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.