Middlebury police and state police are combing the crime scene off Route 7 South after a man stabbed a family member Wednesday evening.
Independent photo/Sean Dougherty

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury police cited a local man for 1st degree aggravated domestic assault after he allegedly pepper sprayed and then stabbed a family member at a Route 7 South home during the evening of Wednesday, June 15.

Police took 39-year-old Joshua P. Puma into custody roughly 90 minutes after receiving a call at 5:43 p.m. about a disturbance involving two adult family members at 800 Route 7 South, near Boardman Street.

Officers responding to the scene said they learned a man — whom they later identified as Puma — had allegedly sprayed another adult family member  — later identified as James Puma, 66 — with pepper spray and then allegedly stabbed him.

Police said the elder Puma had reportedly fired a gun toward his assailant. James Puma and another family member were ultimately able to leave the home, according to police.

James Puma was initially taken to Porter Hospital by Middlebury Regional EMS and was subsequently airlifted to the University of Vermont Medical Center, according to Middlebury police.

Middlebury Police Chief Jason Covey said Thursday morning he was unable to share details about James Puma’s injuries.

Police arrested Joshua Puma about 90 minutes after the alleged incident, after they were able to convince him to peacefully leave the Route 7 residence. Joshua Puma was taken to Porter Hospital for treatment of an apparent non-life-threatening injury, then ordered held overnight without bail at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Center. He was slated for arraignment in Addison Superior Court, criminal division, on Thursday afternoon. As of this writing, Middlebury police were still working with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office about potential criminal charges to which Puma would be asked to answer at his arraignment.

Police closed Route 7 in the area during the incident.

It should also be noted that Joshua Puma is currently on federal probation, according to Middlebury police.

Back on May 23, 2022, Joshua Puma pleaded not guilty in federal court in Burlington to three counts of “transmitting threats in interstate commerce to injure the person of another.” According to court documents and proceedings, the charges involved allegations that Puma called a Vermont Department of Corrections reporting line and threatened to kill a state court judge, a defense attorney, and a state prosecutor and to sexually assault that same prosecutor, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont.

Chief Covey, in an email exchange, lauded “a strong team effort by multiple members of the Middlebury Police Department, who were able to secure Mr. Puma’s peaceful surrender. We are also very grateful for the supporting role provided by Vermont State Police, the Middlebury Fire Department, and Middlebury Regional EMS.”