MIDDLEBURY — The man accused in a string of burglaries committed in Addison County earlier this year faced additional charges in Vermont Superior Court’s Criminal Division in Middlebury on Wednesday and was denied bail.
According to a Vermont State Police press release, Raymond Ritchie, 37, of Addison was arraigned for six more counts of burglary and one more for felony possession of stolen property. These charges were added to the charges on which Ritchie had been arraigned in August, including three counts of unlawful trespass and cultivation of marijuana.
Per Ritchie and his attorney’s request, the court also held a weight of evidence hearing on Wednesday to determine whether he should continue to be held without bail, as ruled by Judge Helen Toor in August.
The hearing resulted in Ritchie, who has 10 prior felony convictions, being returned to jail and being held without bail, according to both VSP and the Addison County State’s Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting all of these cases.
According to the VSP press release, the possession of stolen property charge stems from “a cumulative total of 52 victims throughout Addison County,” and those victims have been able to identify and reclaim property, valued at $10,261. The stolen property was seized during the execution of several search warrants at Ritchie’s Addison home this past summer.
State police believe a large amount of additional property recovered from his home was also stolen. Authorities have scheduled public viewings of the remaining property at the New Haven barracks on Oct. 7, between 10 a.m. to noon, and 5 to 7 p.m.
Police are urging those who have reported a burglary or theft within the past three years to stop by the Route 7 barracks on that day.
According to the state’s attorney’s office, the next step in Ritchie’s legal case will be a status conference to be held at the Frank Mahadey Courthouse in Middlebury at 9 a.m. on Oct. 28. That conference will deal with all of the cases, according to the office.
Ritchie and his girlfriend, Nicole Burgos, 29, of Addison, were originally arrested on July 31. She was cited for cultivation of marijuana and was released, while Ritchie is being jailed in the Marble Valley Correctional Center.
Addison residents have followed Ritchie’s case carefully, attended court dates, lobbied officials for his continued incarceration and lobbied lawmakers for stiffer penalties for habitual lawbreakers, and founded a Neighborhood Watch to help protect their homes and businesses.