March 11, 2009
- (Rutland Herald)
- "Hearing
set for ex-police captain" -
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Article published Mar 11,
2009
Hearing set for ex-police captain
By
Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER
BRATTLEBORO — A merits hearing will be held
later this month to determine whether former Capt. Heidi Nelson of the
Windham County Sheriff's Department violated the terms of her probation
by continuing to see an underage student that she took on a secret trip
to Florida a year ago.
Nelson, of Westminster, a former Vermont State Police trooper who
retired on a medical disability, pleaded no contest last fall to charges
she took her law enforcement student at the Brattleboro Career Center to
Florida without the permission of the girl's parents.
Nelson received a deferred sentence last fall, but the alleged probation
violation could change all that dramatically, said Windham County
State's Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver.
"If you receive a deferred sentence, by law you lose your deferred
sentence once you violate terms of your probation and then she would be
convicted of a felony," Shriver said.
Shriver said she and Nelson's lawyer, Bettina Buehler of Brattleboro,
couldn't reach an agreement on whether Nelson violated the terms of her
probation on the underlying charge of unlawful restraint when she had
contact with her victim.
According to court records, Nelson was seen at a Dummerston gas station
late at night, with the former student waiting for her in her vehicle.
According to her sentence, Nelson was forbidden from having any contact
with the former student until she finished high school, at the request
of the girl's parents. The girl is believed to have completed her high
school graduation requirements a few days after the pair were spotted
together.
Shriver said Buehler is expected to argue that the student had finished
high school and there was a "necessity defense" of some kind at play.
Buehler didn't return a telephone call asking for comment.
Nelson resigned from her position with the sheriff's department last
year before the criminal charges were filed.
Contact Susan Smallheer at
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com.
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