Worcester woman guilty in attempted murder case

BURLINGTON — A Worcester woman pleaded guilty in Vermont Superior Court on Thursday to attempted second-degree murder by seriously wounding a Westford man as he provided her a firearms and safety course five years ago.

Veronica Lewis, 36, admitted that she gunned down Darryl Montague and left him for dead on the side of Pettingill Road at his business, Vermont Target Sports, on June 29, 2015. He was shot twice in the face and once in the abdomen.

Under the plea agreement announced earlier this week, Lewis is expected to receive a state sentence of 20 years to life in prison with all but 10 years suspended. She will be under supervision by state probation for 40 years with special conditions, including that she seeks proper mental health treatment.

Lewis also must undergo a mental health evaluation before she can be released from prison, Assistant Attorney General Ultan Doyle told the court during the one-hour hearing.

Judge Martin Maley ordered a pre-sentence investigation by the state probation office.

“We are very pleased seeing a guilty plea from Miss Lewis,” Attorney General T. J. Donovan said after the hearing.

He said the bottom line in the high-profile case was protecting the public and getting Lewis the mental health help she needs.

Donovan, when Chittenden County State’s Attorney in 2015, charged Lewis with attempted first-degree murder for the shooting. After Donovan became Attorney General, his successor, Sarah George, dropped the attempted murder charge in 2019 when Lewis’ lawyers said they planned to use the insanity defense.

George said she doubted she could win the Lewis case and two other unrelated murder and attempted murder cases. She issued a three-page letter June 4, 2019, explaining why she dropped all the charges on the same day.

At the urging of Gov. Phil Scott, Donovan agreed to have the Attorney General’s Office look at the three cases. Thursday’s guilty plea was one of the final steps in bringing closure to the Lewis case.

George, who was appointed by Scott to replace Donovan in 2017, was critical of the governor’s request. George questioned why Scott didn’t call her and instead he decided to reach out to Donovan, who has the same jurisdiction over the three cases she dropped.

About a week later, federal prosecutors filed charges against Lewis after learning the Vermont Mental Health Department was about to release her back into the community.

Lewis also entered a guilty plea earlier in the week in U.S District Court in Burlington to two federal felony counts. She admitted to possession of a Smith & Wesson .22-caliber revolver stolen from Montague and interfering with commence by committing a robbery during the same incident.

Lewis is expected to receive a six-year sentence with no credit for any of the four years she was held in state custody before her federal arrest on June 12, 2019, according to that plea agreement.

As part of her signed plea agreements in both the state and federal cases, Lewis agreed to waive any affirmative defense of insanity, officials said.

Donovan said Thursday it was important that Lewis get “robust mental health treatment over a period of time.”

He said it was critical that the future of Lewis in the community was not left to the mental health department, which could have released Lewis any day without notice. Donovan said instead there will be proper monitoring the Vermont Corrections Department, including the probation department.

He said it also was important to remember there was a Vermonter that received life-threatening injuries.

A guilty plea is a rarity in such a case. Due to the significant medical bills for Montague, a no contest plea — which could not be used against Lewis in a civil proceeding — would be the expected plea.

Under questioning by the judge, Doyle said Montague was not fully supportive of the plea agreement, but also understands the limitations. Montague wants to be heard at sentencing, Doyle said.

Among those monitoring the state hearing were Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Justin Jiron from George’s office. Also at the hearing was Assistant Federal Public Defender David McColgin, who represents Lewis in the federal case.

Lewis, who has had mental health challenges, was taking her second firearms training and safety class when she turned and fired on Montague, state police said.

After the shooting, Lewis left Montague on the side of the road. She eventually fled back to Washington County, where she was living at 100 Acres Homestead on Gould Hill Road in Worcester, Detective Sgt. Mike Kamerling reported. She was found with the stolen gun and ammunition, he said.

Police said, at the time, 100 Acres Homestead was a Vermont licensed therapeutic community residence for people who are challenged with mental illness or struggling with life’s emotional stresses.

A Montague family member initially thought he had been struck by a car, but police later determined he had been shot three times.

Doyle said the plan is to sentence Lewis first in federal court — tentatively set for May 28. That way Lewis is expected to serve her sentence in a federal facility, which would have much better mental health programs than the state of Vermont.

The video court hearing, which started 25 minutes later, was interrupted twice to allow Lewis to confer privately with her lawyers Jessica Brown and William Kidney about legal issues.

Maley questioned Lewis about her understanding of the guilty plea and explained what the state would have to prove if the case went to trial. Lewis acknowledged that she intended to kill Montague and it was a conscious decision.

Doyle said there was no evidence to show it was not a case of self-defense or an accident. The three shots were all at close range, he said.

As part of the plea agreement, Lewis agrees to stay away from Montague and his wife. She also agrees to stay away from several correctional guards that police and prosecutors have said she assaulted when detained at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.

The state said it does not plan to pursue any criminal charges in those cases involving the prison guards.