Chyquan Cupe
BRATTLEBORO — Police have arrested a 21-year-old Hartford, Connecticut, man on a half-dozen charges including aggravated assault some two months after they raided his former residence here and seized a cache of illegal drugs and weapons.
Chyquan Cupe was allegedly squatting at 33 Oak St. — a drug house between a special needs school and a residence for single mothers and children — when he held two women at gunpoint Christmas Day and forced them to physically fight over a $200 drug debt.
When Brattleboro police arrived with a search warrant Dec. 28, Cupe was gone — prompting an alert that he was “considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached by members of the public.”
Authorities went on to arrest Cupe this month — a fact they hadn’t publicized until Wednesday — and are holding him without bail on charges that also include unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and possession of cocaine and narcotics, court papers show.
But that hasn’t stopped the drama at 33 Oak St., where seven police cruisers responded Tuesday night after neighbors reported the sound of gunfire.
“No physical evidence of gunshots was located during the initial police response,” local officers said in a short written statement Wednesday. “The investigation into this incident is ongoing.”
Court papers detail why authorities have reason for concern. One of the women Cupe allegedly held at gunpoint on Christmas went to police two days later and said she was “scared for her life,” according to an affidavit.
Cupe reportedly had just pulled the woman by her hair and announced “I’m going to beat and kill you right here” out of anger over a missing handgun he had given the tenant of the apartment.
Police went to 33 Oak St. the next day, Dec. 28, and seized a safe full of cocaine, opioids and amphetamines, as well as a handgun with an obliterated serial number and a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun — both weapons loaded and “strategically located” with more bullets under couch cushions and in a pile of clothes, the affidavit says.
Cupe, however, wasn’t there.
Neighbors soon discovered the haul of illegal drugs and guns wasn’t enough to stop dozens upon dozens of strangers from continuing to stop by the apartment where authorities say a group of dealers has set up shop.
“We Sell Drugs” was spray painted onto the side of 33 Oak St. a few days ago. Provided photo
Police have fielded some 70 calls involving 33 Oak St. this past year, with reports ranging from loitering, noise and disorderly conduct to overdoses, assaults and stolen vehicles.
On Monday morning, two cruisers and an ambulance responded to an unidentified medical emergency that saw one person removed on a stretcher. Tuesday night, authorities returned with rifles and a police dog after neighbors said they heard gunshots.
“Police interviewed several people in the area, including vehicle occupants, apartment residents and neighbors,” they said Wednesday in a statement. “Police did not locate any injured people and there were no reports of injuries.”
The neighborhood not only contains a school and home for single mothers but also two apartment buildings owned by former Gov. Peter Shumlin, who made national news five years ago by devoting his State of the State address to rising local reports of opioid abuse.
Police have issued no further information about Cupe’s arrest pending a scheduled court appearance Tuesday.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Alleged dealer arrested, but drug house drama continues.