Jeffrey Butterfield is co-owner and chef at Sarducci’s restaurant. Facebook photo
The co-owner and head chef of an Italian restaurant in Montpelier — recently accused of choking his girlfriend — has denied a charge of first-degree aggravated domestic assault.
The defendant, Jeffrey Butterfield, was released from the Barre City Police lockup on the condition that he remain in Washington County, stay away from firearms and alcohol, and keep 300 feet apart from his girlfriend. The court made an exception to the restraining order for Sarducci’s restaurant, where Butterfield and the alleged victim are employed.
Both Butterfield and his girlfriend relayed different accounts of the night to Montpelier police officers, according to affidavits filed with the Washington County court.
An affidavit from Officer Christopher Quesnel states that Butterfield went to a funeral in New Hampshire during the day of June 29. After he returned, he and his girlfriend went out for a “couple drinks.” Two witnesses confirmed that the pair had been out drinking; they did not see any “noticeable tension.”
Butterfield’s girlfriend went home first, and Butterfield followed 10 minutes later. Both were back in their shared Montpelier residence by 1:45 a.m., according to police reports.
After Butterfield’s return, the pair’s accounts diverge. Butterfield claims that he got into bed next to his girlfriend and asked her where she’d been. She didn’t respond. Then he alleges that his girlfriend turned over and put her hands around his throat.
Butterfield told Quesnel that he didn’t know why she stopped choking him, except that it must have been “intuition.”
“I asked Butterfield to explain any marks or injuries that might be found upon [his girlfriend], but he was not able to provide any reasonable explanation except that he ‘didn’t do anything,’” Quesnel wrote.
Butterfield’s girlfriend told Officer Samuel Lambert a different version of the night’s events. In her account, Butterfield came home, turned the light on and began yelling at her. He told her she needed to move out; he called her a “whore.”
Then, Butterfield’s girlfriend recalled being pinned down and “straddled while laying in bed.” She told Lambert that she experienced “fear and pain” when Butterfield grabbed her by the throat and choked her for at least five seconds. Butterfield’s girlfriend said she choked him back to defend herself.
“I noted red marks on her neck consistent with the size of an adult male thumb,” Lambert wrote.
Both Butterfield and his girlfriend were asked to rate their pain on a scale from one to 10. Butterfield ranked his pain a seven; his girlfriend called hers a four.
Lambert and Quesnel both noted that they found evidence to support Butterfield’s girlfriend’s story. Lambert, who arrived on the scene an hour before Quesnel, described his conversation with Butterfield as “unproductive.” He wrote that he had probable cause to believe Butterfield committed aggravated domestic assault.
Shortly after the incident, Butterfield’s girlfriend filled out questionnaires to document the choking and to ascertain any “domestic violence related risk factors.” In the interviews, she recalled prior verbal abuse but no physical violence.
“We argue but it’s never been like this,” she said. She added that Butterfield always “feels really bad” after becoming violent.
In the domestic violence questionnaire, one question asked how “incomplete” the suspect feels without the victim.
“Two things matter to him: his job and me,” Butterfield’s girlfriend responded.
Butterfield has worked at the job his girlfriend referenced — a chef position at Sarducci’s Italian restaurant — for seven years. He came to the restaurant as a sous chef in 2012 and was promoted to head chef two years later. In late 2018, Butterfield bought in to the business and became one of its co-owners. His face is currently the cover image for the restaurant’s Facebook page.
In January, Sarducci’s founder and other co-owner Carol Paquette told the Montpelier Bridge that Butterfield was a good fit for the restaurant.
“He’s so good at what he does, he’s super smart, and his ego doesn’t get in the way. That last part is very important,” she told the Bridge.
Paquette declined comment in response to question about whether the allegations against Butterfield would affect his role at the restaurant.
Butterfield has two prior run-ins with law enforcement on top of his current domestic violence allegation. Both date to 2006. One is for burglary; the other is for a DUI. The burglary case was dismissed, and Butterfield pleaded guilty to the impairment charge.
According to Quesnel, Butterfield appeared intoxicated during their interview but refused a breath test. His girlfriend claimed he does not have a history of problems with drinking.
Butterfield’s case has a hearing to determine attorneys on Thursday, and a scheduling order set for Aug. 17. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison or a maximum fine of $25,000.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Montpelier restaurant co-owner/chef accused of choking girlfriend.