UPDATED WEDNESDAY MORNING
RIPTON — Police say two men lured a third man to a Ripton home on Saturday and beat him with a tire iron and a large wrench before the victim fled into the woods, where he allegedly was shot at.
Vermont State Police on Tuesday morning announced that they had captured 41-year-old Peter Manning of Ripton and jailed him on $100,000 bail, and they were still looking for Michael Lafountain, 38, of Weybridge, who had a warrant out for his arrest.
Late Tuesday evening VSP Det. Sgt. Todd Wilkins issued a press release saying that Lafountain had turned himself in to Middlebury police on Tuesday evening. He was lodged at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility and was due to be arraigned on Wednesday.
On Sept. 17, Sean Tremblay, 39, of Vergennes told Vermont State Police that he had been assaulted in Ripton. Troopers said their investigation showed that Tremblay was lured to a residence, where he was sprayed in the face with mace then struck multiple times with a tire iron and a large wrench by two men identified as Manning and Lafountain.
Tremblay was able to retreat into the woods. While in the woods, Tremblay told police, he heard multiple gunshots in his general direction; he was not hit by any of the shots.
Tremblay was able to make it to a nearby residence and the homeowner drove Tremblay to the state police barracks in New Haven. Tremblay was later transported to Porter Hospital, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and released later that day.
State police looked for Manning and Lafountain throughout the weekend but could not find either. Arrest warrants were issued for both men on Monday.
Police located Manning on Monday evening in Middlebury, where they took him into custody on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and transported him to the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland and held with bail set at $100,000. He is due to be arraigned in Addison Superior Court, criminal division, today.
Police asked that anyone with information on this incident contact Vermont State Police Det. Sgt. Todd Wilkins at 802-442-5421.