Felipe Cotto Jr.

STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

CASE#: 22A4005020

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Lt. Todd Baxter

STATION: St. Johnsbury Barracks

CONTACT#: 802-748-3111

 

DATE/TIME: 10:27 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, 2022

INCIDENT LOCATION: Maplefields store, 85 U.S. Route 2, St. Johnsbury, VT

INCIDENT TYPE: Shooting investigation

 

ACCUSED: Felipe Cotto Jr.

AGE: 40

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Chicopee, Massachusetts

VIOLATIONS: Attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault

 

ACCUSED: Casey Jean Squires

AGE: 21

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Sheffield, Vermont

VIOLATIONS: Accessory to attempted second-degree murder, accessory to aggravated assault

 

VICTIM: Nathan Smires

AGE: 36

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Barnet, Vermont

 

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

The Vermont State Police has arrested two suspects in connection with the shooting of Nathan Smires in St. Johnsbury.

 

Felipe Cotto Jr., 40, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, is facing charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Casey Jean Squires, 21, of Sheffield, Vermont, is accused of being an accessory to those same charges.

 

Investigators determined that the shooting occurred in the parking lot outside the Maplefield store, and that the incident occurred due to a dispute between Cotto and Smires. All the individuals involved knew one another.

 

Cotto was ordered jailed without bail, while Squires was held for lack of $25,000 cash or surety. Both are due to appear for arraignment at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8, 2022, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in St. Johnsbury.

 

No additional information is available at this time. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following the suspects’ arraignment. Members of the media should call the Court Clerk’s Office to confirm details of the hearing.

 

Casey Jean Squires

 

***Update No. 1, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, 2022***

During the continued investigation into the Tuesday night shooting of a man at Maplefields in St. Johnsbury, members of the Vermont State Police including the Tactical Services Unit executed a search warrant Wednesday afternoon, July 6, 2022, at 1241 Mathewson Hill Rd. in Lyndon. Two individuals in the home have been detained and are considered persons of interest in connection with the shooting.

 

Four others in the house are being interviewed by detectives. In addition, detectives remain on site and will be carrying out the court-ordered search of the residence for evidence connected to the shooting.

 

The victim is identified as 36-year-old Nathan Smires of Barnet, Vermont. He was initially brought to Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury and later transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

 

VSP’s investigation remains active and ongoing, and police continue to request that anyone with information that may assist detectives call the St. Johnsbury Barracks at 802-748-3111, or leave an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

Further information will be released when it is available.

 

 

***Initial news release, 5 a.m. Wednesday, July 6, 2022***

Police are investigating a shooting that occurred late Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at the Maplefields store in St. Johnsbury in which one person was injured.

 

The St. Johnsbury Police Department requested assistance from the Vermont State Police following the report of a shooting at 10:27 p.m. Tuesday. The victim, an adult man, was taken to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. Police are withholding his identity at this time pending further investigation.

 

No one is currently in custody. Initial investigation indicates the shooting was an isolated incident.

 

Members of the Vermont State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Major Crime Unit, along with troopers from the Field Force Division, are working on this case. The St. Johnsbury Police Department is assisting.

 

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call the St. Johnsbury Barracks at 802-748-3111, or provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

No additional information is currently available. The state police will provide updates as the investigation continues.

 

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