True Vermont

Considering the public outcry over the drug-related murder of Carlos Vasquez this spring, complete with a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in Rutland, it is curious that a similar incident involving local men provoked no such outcry.  In November of 2005 four Fair Haven men took a gun to Burlington with the intent to rob a marijuana dealer.  Things went awry, and one of the robbers was shot with his own gun. If one is to believe the politicians, this is exactly the type of activity that they want to deal with harshly – but that’s not what happened.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha explained that he couldn’t be more lenient to Michael Manovill and Aaron Ruby because of the mandatory minimum sentence and gave each man five years in prison for the use of a gun in a drug crime.  Somehow Judge Murtha was able to disconnect robbery participants Michael and Peter Charron from the mandatory minimum, with Michael receiving a year and a day and Peter two years probation.  Meanwhile, Michael Connarn of Northfield is finishing up a 24-year sentence for three relatively minor drug crimes with no guns or violence involved. 

So what message did the defendants get?  Since his release from prison Michael Charron has repeatedly violated the conditions of his supervised release including missing 11 appointments for urine tests and testing positive for marijuana and cocaine.  Judge Murtha could have sentenced Charron to 9 months imprisonment, but instead chose 5.  The message seems to be that violent criminals receive better treatment than non-violent ones.