Uncategorized

Salisbury man charged with strangling and hitting a woman

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man was ordered held without bail on Monday following his arraignment in Chittenden Superior Court, criminal division, on a felony charge of first-degree aggravated domestic assault, stemming from an alleged incident on Saturday, April 25, during which a woman was allegedly strangled and struck in the face.
Sylvan J. Boyd, 28, faces up to 15 years in jail and/or a fine of up to $25,000 if convicted on the felony assault charge. Chittenden Superior Court Judge Thomas G. Walsh ordered that Boyd be held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans pending a scheduled June 1 status conference at the Addison County Courthouse.
It was at around 3:15 a.m. on April 25 that Vermont State Police Trooper Jake Bloom was sent to investigate a report of a family fight at a home on Colorado Circle in Salisbury. Authorities said they were told that the fight had gotten “physical” between Boyd and a woman, and the woman was bleeding.
Police found the victim in the home, crying and holding her face, according to court records.
“(The victim) looked up at me and I was able to observe swelling to her face,” Bloom wrote in his court affidavit. “Her left cheek was swelled out from her mouth to her eye. I observed that the outside of her left eye was bloodshot and there was dried blood on her lips. I was also able to observe redness and bruising on her neck.”
Authorities also noticed marks on her right leg and foot that the victim reported as having occurred during the incident, according to police.
The victim told police that Boyd had strangled her two weeks prior and that her left arm and right hand were numb, according to court records. The victim alleged that Boyd had again strangled her that night, and had also punched her, according to court records. Boyd and the victim had been in the process of ending their relationship, according to police.
Another witness told authorities that Boyd first started “becoming aggressive” earlier that evening during a ride home from Pittsford, during which the witness alleged that Boyd had punched him in the head while he was seated in the back seat of the vehicle, according to court records. The witness declined to pursue assault charges against Boyd, police said.
The witness also alleged that Boyd, after the alleged domestic assault, made “comments about shooting everyone,” according to court records. When Boyd allegedly began dialing the combination to a gun safe in the home, the witness reportedly pinned Boyd to the ground, according to Bloom’s affidavit.
Police, while booking Boyd, reported seeing fresh scratches on his arms, according to court records. The victim allegedly told authorities that Boyd had previously talked about taking his own life, according to an affidavit filed by VSP Trooper Cari Crick, who also investigated the case.
Boyd told police that he had become despondent over the recent death of his brother and that he had consumed alcohol that evening, according to court records. Police subsequently measured his blood-alcohol level at 0.198 percent, according to Bloom’s affidavit. For the sake of comparison, the legal blood-alcohol level for driving is 0.08.
Boyd denied having struck the victim, according to court records.
The victim has declined to obtain a restraining order against Boyd, according to police.

Share this story:

More News
Uncategorized

Bernard D. Kimball, 76, of Middlebury

MIDDLEBURY — Bernard D. Kimball, 76, passed away in Bennington Hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. … (read more)

News Uncategorized

Fresh Air Fund youths returning to county

The Fresh Air Fund, initiated in 1877 to give kids from New York City the opportunity to e … (read more)

Obituaries Uncategorized

Mark A. Nelson of Bristol

BRISTOL — A memorial service for Mark A. Nelson of Bristol will be held 1 p.m. on Saturday … (read more)

Share this story: