WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A 19-year-old Quechee man who was shot by police after firing a shotgun in the direction of roommates in May is expected to serve no jail time after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.
James Luce pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one felony count of aggravated domestic assault and a single misdemeanor count of simple assault.
In return, Judge Timothy Tomasi sentenced Luce to a 30- to 60-day suspended sentence and ordered him to serve two years on probation, which requires him to complete an alcohol, substance abuse and mental health screening.
After that two-year period, Luce can apply to have the aggravated domestic assault charge expunged.
Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill said the “very lenient” sentence was part of a deal to prevent Luce from having the case transferred from criminal to juvenile court.
Under Vermont’s youthful offender laws, criminal defendants under the age of 22 can request to have their case be heard in juvenile court. If the request is granted by a judge, those proceedings are kept confidential so a conviction there might not prevent Luce from obtaining firearms, Cahill said.
Under the plea deal, Luce’s name will be listed on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for at least two years, Cahill said.
That system would flag Luce if he attempts to purchase a firearm from either a gun shop or federally licensed firearm dealer.
“One of our key concerns was to keep Mr. Luce away from firearms for a period of time and to ensure that gun shop owners and individuals engaged in a private transfer know that he is prohibited from owning a firearm,” Cahill told reporters in Windsor County Superior Court.
Public defender Nikki South said she was grateful for Cahill’s willingness to negotiate and reach an agreement. She said in court that the sentence will allow Luce to seek treatment and go on to live a productive life.
“It was a really creative solution to a complicated case,” South said after Wednesday’s proceedings.
Cahill said both charges Luce pleaded guilty to stem from a May 5 incident that ended with him being shot near Quechee-West Hartford Road.
The simple assault charge is for punching a roommate at 4536 Quechee West Hartford Road, while the aggravated domestic assault charge was brought for firing a shotgun in the direction of a roommate, Cahill said.
Roommates told police that Luce began swearing at them when they returned home around 7:30 p.m. and that he punched one of them several times.
One of the roommates attempted to talk to Luce outside the shared home and offered to drive him to his grandmother’s house to which Luce responded by “yelling and screaming.” Luce then picked up a shotgun and “fired toward the house,” which had at least two roommates inside, according to court documents.
Police found Luce on foot and ordered him to drop the shotgun. Although he did put the gun down at one point, he then picked it up again and Vermont State Police Trooper Eric Vitali fired his shotgun one time, grazing Luce and causing minor abrasions.
Luce was taken into custody when Lebanon Police Officer Tyler Hewes, who also was responding to the incident, shot Luce with a stun gun and other officers helped handcuff him.
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, whose office investigated the police shooting, said Wednesday evening that the officer’s actions had been deemed to be legally justified and that Vitali would not be prosecuted.
Donovan said a full news release on the investigation would be released on Thursday but that an Aug. 23 letter from his office says Vitali was “reasonable with his belief that he (and another trooper) were in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm at the time he fired one shot at Mr. Luce.”
State Police spokesman Adam Silverman earlier had confirmed that Vitali was “back on the road” as a trooper, another indication he had been cleared.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.