Two Plead Innocent
To Gun Theft

Justin Lemieux, 24, of Randolph, and Renada Walters, 23, of Braintree, pleaded innocent to federal indictments of stealing firearms from a federally-licensed firearms dealer, and possessing stolen firearms, two weeks ago in U.S. District Court in Burlington Jan. 11.

They were charged in connection with a Nov. 23 break-in at Locust Creek Outfitters in Bethel, in which five handguns were stolen.

Following the Thanksgiving burglary, law enforcement officials in Vermont launched a large-scale hunt for the pair. Lemieux and Walters were located and arrested by federal agents in Florida about one week after the break-in, and were later returned to Vermont.

A few days after the gun theft, two of the firearms were recovered from two men who stated that they had purchased them from Lemieux and Walters. Timothy Driscoll, 54, of Washington, and Frank Driscoll, 27, of Chelsea were charged with buying stolen guns. Their cases are being processed in Washington County District Court.

Following their Jan. 11 arraignment in Burlington, Lemieux and Walters were each released on their own recognizance, on conditions that they each live with a parent, maintain employment, seek substance abuse counseling, have no contact with each other, and other conditions.

According to a release from the Vermont U.S. Attorney’s office, the stolen handguns—all of which have been recovered—included a Bounty Hunter revolver, a single-shot Comanche revolver, a Heritage revolver, a .45-caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol, and a Ruger.

If convicted of the charges filed against them, Lemieux and Walters face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Atty. Thomas D. Anderson cautioned that an indictment is only a method of bringing charges and is not proof of guilt. He noted that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Anderson thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Vermont State Police, who investigated the case.

Atty. Eric Miller, of Burlington represents Lemieux and Walters is represented by Atty. Jason Sawyer, also of Burlington. Asst. U.S. Atty. Elizabeth Woodcock has been assigned to prosecute the case