Monday, March 17, 2014

Shooting injures two in Killington

By Brent Curtis
STAFF WRITER | March 17,2014
Rutland Herald
 
KILLINGTON — A fight between roommates led to a shooting that sent two people to the hospital, according to Vermont State Police.

Police arrested Justin Bitar, 28, who lives at 2841 Killington Road where the shooting took place, and charged him with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting in the leg a man and a woman who live with him.

Bitar, who was jailed on $25,000 bail Sunday, will also answer in court today to a felony charge of using a firearm in the commission of a crime and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

His roommates, 25-year-old Matt Dunn and Jessica Martome, 25, were both taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center after police were called to the scene above Outback restaurant at 4:45 a.m.

By Sunday afternoon, Dunn had been released from the hospital while Martome remained there in good condition, according to an RRMC spokeswoman.

State Police Detective Lt. Kevin Lane said Sunday he couldn’t discuss the details of the case but he said the shooting was precipitated by an event earlier in the night between the roommates.

In the earlier altercation, police say Dunn was assaulted by Bitar and one of his friends, Karl Albert, 44. Albert was issued a criminal citation for simple assault, Lane said, but he was not present when the shooting took place.

Lane said two shots were fired during the incident and police have recovered the firearm. He declined to say what type of weapon was used.

Earlier in the day, a state police trooper guarded the entrance to the apartment which was littered with garbage bags, empty beverage containers and other debris.

Lane said a forensic crime team collected evidence at the apartment later in the day and that police had applied for a search warrant at the address.

Ron Viccari, the Connecticut owner of the commercial property where the apartment is located, said he had recently had problems with Bitar and was planning to evict him.

He said he learned Sunday that Dunn and Bitar began arguing after Bitar came home from work after 2 a.m. Sunday. A fight ensued with Bitar breaking a wine bottle over Dunn’s head, he said.

Dunn left the residence but later returned home just before the shooting took place, Viccari said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Vermont State Police at 773-9101.

brent.curtis

@rutlandherald.com

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