By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
A version of this story was published earlier today by the Caledonian-Record
BURLINGTON – A South Burlington woman pleaded not guilty in Vermont Superior Court on Monday to a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a Stowe man outside a Church Street Marketplace bar early Saturday.
An altercation between the woman and man inside the Red Square bar along with the subsequent shooting outside by the front door were all captured on the nightclub’s security video.
Aaliyah D. Johnson, 22, of Farrell Street will remain lodged at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington until at least a hearing is conducted on a motion to hold without bail.
Police said Teville G. Williams, 30, of Stowe was shot several times reportedly by Johnson after both had been ordered to leave Red Square restaurant, which is diagonally across from Burlington City Hall.
It appears Johnson spilled or threw a drink at Williams and that he struck her and pulled her hair, police said.
After the shooting, Johnson fled down Church Street but then walked up to a police officer to surrender and also turned over her white purse where she had her loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun, Detective Cpl. Krystal A. Wrinn said in court papers.
“He hit me in my face, pulled my hair,” police quote Johnson as saying. When asked if the man was the shooter, Johnson responded:
“No, It was me, it was me” and then added “you can take it” in reference to surrendering to police her unzipped purse with part of the handgun showing, court records show.
Johnson presented her hands to be cuffed, Officer Brady McGee said. She was dressed in a black letterman jacket, a black crop top and a denim skirt, Wrinn said.
Community Service Officer Thomas Young said he was in City Hall Park on patrol when he heard seven gunshots in the area of the Church Street Marketplace about 12:28 a.m. Saturday.
Johnson told police at the scene she wanted a lawyer and officers stopped talking to her. She was taken to the police station and while waiting for officers to seize her clothes, the defendant volunteered she was a good person and that she knew what she did was wrong, McGee reported.
Johnson said multiple times that she needed Williams to be okay and she hoped he would be fine, McGee said. Johnson also said the shooting could ruin future job opportunities, he reported.
“Johnson stated that her gun was legal, and that she carries a firearm downtown because she is scared of men downtown. She also stated that she is just tired of men putting their hands on her,” McGee wrote in his report.
Little is known about Johnson. South Burlington Police did report they arrested her for driving under the influence two years ago when she was 20 years-old, but court records do not indicate a conviction was obtained by the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Williams was found face down on the pavement outside the nightclub, according to multiple pictures included by police in the court affidavit.
Stowe Police said they knew nothing about Williams. The Mountain Road address reportedly listed for him is a rental unit that caters to workers at the ski resort, police said.
Williams was dead on arrival at the UVM Medical Center despite the life-saving efforts at the scene by first responders, police said.
Murad said in a news release there was an initial altercation inside the bar in which Williams assaulted Johnson.
Police said the Red Square staff directed both patrons to leave through separate doors – but apparently did not stagger their ejections by a few minutes. Williams exited the front door, while Johnson went out a side door and walked toward Church Street, Wrinn wrote in court papers.
Johnson walked toward the front door of the bar and pulled out the handgun, police said. She fired multiple shots from less than 10 feet away from the victim who appeared in one photo to raise his arm in a defensive effort.
The Burlington city emergency dispatch center received a radio message about 12:28 a.m. from Young, the unarmed Community Service Officer (CSO), who heard multiple gunshots while on foot patrol in City Hall Park.
Police officers responded and located a man who had been struck by gunfire. They joined in on the CPR that had begun by other people at the scene.
At the same time, Officer McGee parked his police cruiser near Nectar’s restaurant on Main Street around the corner due to the street construction and approached the scene on foot, police said.
McGee reported Johnson surrendered peacefully, court records note. The .45 caliber handgun also was seized, police said.
Two poorly drafted news releases from Burlington Police on Saturday never mentioned the specific criminal charge Johnson was arrested on, that she was lodged in jail, when she would be in court and that she had been denied bail.
Burlington Police also failed to release Johnson’s mugshot and that caused a picture of a person with a similar name being posted on Social Media as the shooter.
The post SoBu woman pleads innocent to Church Street slaying first appeared on Vermont Daily Chronicle.
The post SoBu woman pleads innocent to Church Street slaying appeared first on Vermont Daily Chronicle.
