Homicide Investigation Begins in VT

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Another recent shooting has resulted in the death of a local man. Vermont State Police have identified the deceased as Justin Gilliam, 38, of Springfield, Vermont. The shooting, now the sixth in the town’s past few months, is part of the ongoing gun violence and violent crime that has been rising in Vermont over the last decade. To address the recent shootings, Chief of Police Mark Fountain and Lieutenant Call, along with members of the Vermont State Police, held a heavily attended town meeting on June 7th.

Police were dispatched to the area of Greeley Road on Monday, June 6, 2022, shortly after receiving a phone call from a local resident at 12:10pm. The resident claimed to have seen the body of an adult man lying on the ground near the area of 99 Greeley Road and presumed he was dead. After arriving on the scene, Springfield Police contacted the Vermont State Police for assistance. The crime scene area of the roadway has since been closed off to traffic. Greeley Road is a heavily wooded, dirt road that follows Spencer Brook, and is roughly four miles from downtown Springfield.

“This is an active investigation and we are working cooperatively with the Vermont State Police,” Fountain said of the homicide.

On June 6th, police reported they were investigating a suspicious death and early on in the investigation contacted and received assistance from Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene Search Team, Victim Services Unit and Field Force Division.

Gilliam’s body was transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy report. The autopsy concluded that Gilliam had been the victim of a gunshot wound to the head and police began a homicide investigation.

“The investigation is active and ongoing,” said Adam Silverman, Public Information Officer for the Vermont State Police, in an email to the Eagle Times.

Residents of Springfield have voiced concerns over a growing opioid problem that is affecting the area and may be a catalyst for the recent violence. Members of recovery centers in Springfield have referenced the area of Interstate 91 that Springfield sits on as a “heroin highway”, trafficking drugs and guns between Vermont and Massachusetts. In 2020, a multi-agency operation dubbed “Operation Fury Road” conducted an 18 month investigation of trafficking on Interstate 91. The operation netted law enforcement 128 illegal firearms, 7,511 rounds of ammunition, approximately 40,200 bags of heroin 141 grams of bulk heroin, 1,489 grams of cocaine base, and 78 grams of powder cocaine. Much of the heroin seized during the operation was laced with fentanyl.

Anyone with information that could aid investigators is asked to call the Vermont State Police in Westminster at 802-722-4600. Tips also may be submitted anonymously online at http://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.