By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — A Putney woman is due in Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, Windsor Unit today to answer from crimes of possession of cocaine, driving with a criminally suspended license, and false information to a police officer stemming from an arrest on Oct. 9.
At 1:58 p.m. on Oct. 9, the Springfield Police Department responded to a fight in progress on Myrtle Street. A witness reported to dispatch that two men got out of a vehicle and started punching another man. There were two women also nearby searching for something on the ground, according to court documents.
One of the women was Billie Jo Wilder, 49, of Putney, who reportedly had a visible injury to her face and was actively bleeding. She told officers she was accidentally bitten by a dog, which was in the back of the car. Wilder and the other woman continued to “frantically” search the ground and vehicle, saying they were looking for keys lost during the altercation.
An investigation found that Wilder had a suspended driver’s license.
The responding officer asked the women to discuss what was going on, and they said that Wilder’s daughter leant the vehicle to the other woman for several weeks. They reportedly saw an unknown man walking near Turning Point Recovery Center and voluntarily gave him a ride. While doing this, there was a struggle over a purse which was when the dog bit the man and Wilder. The man fled the scene and Wilder discovered that the keys were gone. She claimed to be a victim of robbery, but did not want to involve police.
The court document said that while looking for keys they were shuffling things around in the vehicle. Wilder put on a sweatshirt and shoes located on the driver’s side floor, although she claimed to be a passenger. The officer found the purse and saw what appeared to be a “scrapper tool” associated with narcotics.
The man who was involved in the altercation was discovered by another officer, who told police that a car pulled up next to him and assailants came at him from behind. He said he was robbed of $500 in cash, and the officer told him of the missing keys. While he was searching for the keys, officers found two scales in a black fanny pack with white substance on them. The man eventually found the keys but had no reason for having them.
Officers went back to Wilder and told her of what they observed, but she said she was sober from drugs. She also denied having any money on her when asked about the $500 that was missing.
A witness then told police that while on the phone with another officer, Wilder and the other woman were attempting to hide something behind the passenger seat. The witness later told police that they viewed the women driving by smoking a crack pipe, and identified Wilder as the driver. The witness also told about the fight over the purse between the women and the man who claimed he was robbed of cash, followed by the man being beaten up by an unidentified man.
The witness told the officer that the women were stashing things since he arrived on the scene, which they verbally swore to on body camera.
Police ultimately searched Wilder’s person, as well as the vehicle, where a container of suspected cocaine and a single crack rock weighing .44 grams was discovered. She was arrested but when in the holding cell she allegedly started digging into her bra as if to conceal something, which turned out to be $500. The money was documented into evidence but the man who said he was robbed did not want to press charges, according to a separate affidavit.
Wilder was issued a citation to appear in Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, Windsor Unit today at 8:30 a.m. to answer from crimes of possession of cocaine, driving with a criminally suspended.
