The man who was named as a person of interest in the Roberta
Martin homicide investigation has officially been charged with her
murder. Vermont State Police say Darren Martell is now their top
suspect in the murder of the 82-year-old Enosburgh woman, who was
missing for a week before her body was discovered in a wooded area
off Sand Hill Road. Martell has been in jail since police had previously
arrested him on an unrelated lewd and lascivious charge Monday
morning. Martell was arraigned today (Friday) in St. Albans for
aggravated murder, a charge which, if convicted, carries a life
sentence in prison without the opportunity for parole.
Two men face federal drug charges after police on Wednesday
executed simultaneous search and arrest warrants in Williamstown,
Vermont, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in
Vermont said Joseph Cadorette, 37, of Williamstown, Vermont, and
Hussein Iman, 20, of Springfield, Massachusetts, face charges of
conspiracy to distribute and distribution of fentanyl and cocaine base.
According to court records, Iman oversaw a drug trafficking
organization that distributed cocaine base and fentanyl in Vermont
between March 2024 and July 2024. People in the organization
allegedly sold narcotics to undercover agents on several occasions.
The federal Justice Department is defending the legal right to
challenge robocalls sent to New Hampshire voters that used artificial
intelligence to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice. Assistant Attorney
General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorney Jane Young filed a statement
of interest Thursday in the lawsuit brought by the League of Women
Voters against Steve Kramer, the political consultant behind the calls
and the three companies involved in transmitting them. Kramer, who
is facing separate criminal charges related to the calls, has yet to
respond to the lawsuit filed in March, but the companies filed a
motion to dismiss last month. Among other arguments, they said
robocalls don’t violate the section of the Voting Rights Act that
prohibits attempting to or actually intimidating, threatening or
coercing voters and that there is no private right of action under the
law. The Justice Department countered that the law clearly allows
aggrieved individuals and organizations representing them to enforce
their rights under the law.
Less than a week after Vice President Kamala Harris became a 2024
presidential candidate, the Democrat is leading former President
Donald Trump in New Hampshire polls. In a general election matchup,
a poll from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm
College shows Harris with 50 percent over Trump’s 44 percent.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is at 3 percent.
The 16th annual Deerfield Valley Blueberry Festival kicked off
Friday with festivities running through next week. The week of
events includes everything from street fairs, parades, a block party,
and even a pancake breakfast. The festivities start on Friday night
with live music and a market in Jacksonville, and a book sale at the
Whitingham Free Public Library.
For the tenth consecutive year, farmers across Vermont will open
their barn doors and garden gates to welcome the public for a
behind the-scenes look at Vermont’s vibrant working landscapes
during Vermont Open Farm Week, Sunday, Aug. 4 through Sunday,
Aug. 11. After July’s challenging weather across the state, many
Vermont farms look forward to welcoming visitors in support of
Vermont’s agricultural community. Vermont Open Farm Week
started in 2014 as “CSA Open Farm Day” and included open houses
at farms across Vermont. Now, for its 10th Anniversary, Vermont
Open Farm Week features 49 farms at 157 events across the state.