Feud over Christmas decoration leads to back-road homicide
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By Daniel Barlow Rutland Herald - Published: December 13, 2006
JAMAICA — A 58-year-old Townshend man fatally shot a Wardsboro man seven times along a rural road here late Monday afternoon following a workplace dispute over a damaged paper-clip Christmas tree, according to the Vermont State Police.
Robert "Clint" Barnum is accused of shooting and killing Ritchie M. Lynch along Pike Falls Road in Jamaica at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. State police said the 36-year-old Lynch was shot seven times in the lower body and died while being transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Barnum, who has been charged with second-degree murder, allegedly admitted to Lynch's killing to police at the scene of the crime Monday. He also allegedly tried to help the victim as he died and proclaimed, "I wanted to shoot him in a spot that would not hurt him too much," according to court documents.
Vermont State Police said Tuesday that the investigation still was in an early stage and some details of the events leading up the fatal shooting were unclear. State Police Detective Sgt. William Jenkins said Barnum and Lynch were friends who had a minor argument earlier that day.
Jenkins wrote in a court affidavit that Barnum accused Lynch of damaging a Christmas tree made of paper clips and scribbling on his daytime calendar that were on his desk at the Village Square, an office at Stratton Mountain Ski resort. Lynch did not work there, but frequently came by to visit Barnum, police said.
The feud escalated throughout Monday, according to court documents. Barnum told co-workers that Lynch was threatening him and Lynch planned to "kick his ass" after work, records show. He allegedly said Lynch wanted to meet him on a back road and fight.
The shooting occurred about four and a half hours later on Pike Falls Road, a rural stretch of alternating dirt and pavement that connects the center of Jamaica with Stratton, according to court documents.
It is not clear how the fatal altercation began, however. Barnum, who stopped at least two motorists along the road asking for a cell phone to call an ambulance for Lynch, told one woman who stopped at the crime scene that Lynch confronted him on the road and refused to leave, police said.
"Rich would not back off," Barnum allegedly said at the crime scene. "I was scared."
Police said Lynch was shot seven times in the area of the lower abdomen and groin and died on the way to the hospital. His body has been sent to the Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for an autopsy.
Barnum invoked the "24-hour rule" during his appearance in Brattleboro District Court on Tuesday afternoon, which allows him at least one day to delay entering a plea to the alleged crime.
Judge Katherine Hayes set a new arraignment date for 9:30 a.m. Friday and ordered him held without bail.
Barnum, who has been held at the Springfield prison since his arrest Monday, wore an orange Vermont Department of Corrections jumpsuit in court. He did not speak, except to say "Yes, ma'am" to the judge, and to declare he has "full faith" in his public defenders when asked if he understood why there was a delay in his arraignment.
Windham County State's Attorney Dan Davis, when speaking to reporters outside of the courtroom, said he brought a charge of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years to life in prison, because the evidence he has seen "does not suggest premeditation."
"That could be amended upward as the investigation continues," he said.
Barnum has an active arrest warrant out for failing to appear in court to explain why he did not finish paying fines relating to a driving under the influence conviction, according to court documents. He still owes $275 on the May DUI conviction, records show.
Barnum also was a Republican candidate for Vermont's U.S. House seat in 1994, but lost the party nomination to John Carroll, who later lost to then-incumbent Bernard Sanders.
In that race, Barnum received 4,586 votes, or about 15.8 percent of the total Republican votes cast, according to the Vermont Secretary of State's Web site.
By an odd coincidence, Lynch was scheduled to appear in Brattleboro court Tuesday afternoon to be sentenced on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge, according to court documents.
Lynch was convicted by a jury earlier this year for choking a woman and throwing her into a drum set during an argument at his Wardsboro home on Aug. 8, 2005. He was acquitted of a felony second-degree unlawful restraint charge for allegedly putting the woman and a young boy in one of his bedrooms and refusing to let them leave his home.
"It is my belief that Ritchie Lynch will continue to be violent, toward women especially, but also to literally anyone who angers him," the woman wrote in a June 2006 letter to the court, which also detailed allegations that Lynch assaulted family members and girlfriends.
Davis, the state's attorney, filed a motion in November 2005, stating his intent to introduce evidence in the assault trial of previous "bad acts," including allegations that Lynch had previously assaulted, harassed, stalked and threatened to kill the same woman between 1994 and 2003.
Lynch also has a lengthy criminal history, including arrests for destruction of property, assault and battery, disturbing the peace, possession of cocaine and driving under the influence, according to court records. It was not clear how many of those arrests resulted in convictions.
Contact Daniel Barlow at daniel.barlow@rutlandherald.com.
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