STARKSBORO — A Starksboro man on Tuesday pleaded innocent in Addison Superior Court, criminal division, to domestic assault-related charges, stemming from an Aug. 30 incident at a Starksboro home during which he allegedly bit a woman with whom he was having a dispute.
Corey J. Oliver, 30, faces misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and interference with access to emergency services, as well as a felony charge of second-degree unlawful restraint. He was released on several conditions — including that he not contact the victim and her children, stay away from her home and not drink any alcohol — following his arraignment on Tuesday.
Court records indicate that Vermont State Police Trooper Adria Pickin responded to a report of a family fight at a home on Big Hollow Road in Starksboro at around 11 a.m. this past Saturday. Pickin said she had been told that an intoxicated, out-of-control man was at the home and had threatened to kill himself.
Four VSP troopers ultimately responded to the home, according to court records. There, they said they found a calm Oliver and quickly interviewed the alleged victim. Police said the woman reported she had tried to stop Oliver from driving “after he had been drinking heavily,” according to court records. The woman said that Oliver had fallen asleep in his truck, then woke up after a few hours, whereupon another argument ensured, according to a police affidavit.
“This time, (the victim) advised that Oliver began throwing household items at her and at other items in the home,” the affidavit states. “It was during this time that (the victim) advised that Oliver had bitten her in her shoulder.”
The victim told police that this type of behavior was “typical” for Oliver when he had consumed too much alcohol, according to court records.
Oliver would not let the victim leave the residence and “grabbed the phones she was attempting to use (to call 911) and smashed them on the ground,” according to court records.
Police said they measured Oliver’s blood-alcohol content at 0.176 percent, which was well above the state’s 0.08-percent threshold for driving.
“Oliver advised that there was a small argument between him and (the victim), but there was no physical abuse,” Pickin stated in her affidavit. “It should be noted that Oliver was armed with two knives.”
Authorities took photos of the victim’s injuries and damage to the home, according to court records.
Oliver was lodged following the incident in lieu of $10,000 bail. Bail was not one of the conditions imposed by Addison County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Mello at the Tuesday arraignment.