RUTLAND — The lawyer for a Middletown Springs man charged in a fatal hit-and-run crash is asking a judge to move his trial out of Rutland County because of widespread media attention the case has attracted.
William Cobb, the attorney for Thomas H. Velde Jr., 42, says his client will not be able to get a fair trial in Rutland County. Leo Branchaud, 57, a farmer, was struck and killed April 22, 2016, by a vehicle Velde was allegedly driving as Branchaud walked in front of his home on Gulf Road in Tinmouth.
Jury selection had been set for Wednesday. However, that was canceled due to the filing of the motion seeking a change of venue. Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy, who is prosecuting Velde, said Thursday she will be opposing the change of venue motion.
The judge has given the prosecutor until Nov. 17 to file a written response.
Cobb could not be reached Thursday for comment.
The tight-knit Rutland County town of 613 has rallied around Branchaud’s widow following the death of her husband. Community members volunteered to help keep Branchaud’s farm up and running after his death. They signed up in shifts to make sure the cows continued to be milked to maintain their value before they were eventually sold off.
Cobb attached to his filing seeking a change of venue several news reports on the case, including those from local and statewide outlets.
“Defendant submits that nearly everyone in Rutland County who has access to news and/or reads the local newspapers will have read something about defendant’s accident involving a local farmer in the Town of Tinmouth,” Cobb wrote in his filing.
“Defendant submits that the publicity has prejudiced the defendant since it generates sympathy for the victim and the victim’s family and the public has access to information that would not necessarily be admissible at trial,” Cobb added.
That press coverage would make it “unlikely” to seat a panel of jurors in Rutland County who had no knowledge of the case, the attorney wrote.
Cobb then asked the judge to transfer the case to another county, though he doesn’t specify which one.
The news reports in the case cited by Cobb include coverage of a community-wide meeting earlier this year in Tinmouth attended by Kennedy and Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan.
At that meeting, Kennedy and Donovan heard from residents their concerns about repeat offenders in the criminal justice system. Velde has eight felonies and more than 30 misdemeanors.
Kennedy and Donovan both said at the meeting they couldn’t talk specifically about Velde’s case. But they added that they understood the frustration of the residents.
“The fact that there are so many people here today speaks volumes,” Donovan said, later adding, “It is an imperfect system. We can improve it. We can improve our response and improve the outcomes to the community.”
Kennedy did say at the meeting she had brought a habitual offender charge against Velde, which carries a possible life sentence.
In addition to the habitual offender charge, Velde pleaded not guilty in April 2016 to four other charges in connection with the crash, including leaving the scene of a fatal crash and impeding a police investigation.
His mother, Lisa Velde, who police initially said was the driver in the crash, was also charged, pleading guilty to a felony offense of impeding law enforcement. She was later sentenced to one to three years in jail, with all but eight months suspended.
Thomas Velde Jr. is currently being held without bail at the Rutland jail.
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