Peter D'Auria

2 months ago | vtdigger.org | Peter D'Auria |Alan J. Keays

Three members of a group known as “Zizians” appeared in court Thursday afternoon for a bail hearing a day after being charged with new firearms misdemeanors, according to Allegany County, Maryland court records. The three individuals — named in court documents as Jack Amadeus LaSota, Michelle Jacqueline Zajko and Daniel Arthur Blank — now face new indictments returned Wednesday.

2 months ago | vtdigger.org | Peter D'Auria |Ethan Weinstein

Valley Vista will shut its Vergennes women’s facility and consolidate all patients at its Bradford location, the rehabilitation center’s chief operating officer said Monday, a decision that comes amid state concern about the company’s financial sustainability. Starting Tuesday, the Vergennes location will no longer accept patients, Chief Operating Officer and Co-owner Rick DiStefano said in an interview, and newly admitted residents will go directly to the rehab’s Bradford location.

Feb 18, 2025 | openvallejo.org | Alan J. Keays |Peter D'Auria

This story, by Alan J. Keays and Peter D’Auria, was first published by VTDigger, a nonprofit news outlet based in Vermont. Federal authorities in Vermont have charged a former Coventry resident with making false statements to buy firearms that were later used in a shootout last month that killed a border patrol agent in the same Northeast Kingdom town.

Feb 18, 2025 | vtdigger.org | Alan J. Keays |Peter D'Auria

Federal authorities in Vermont have charged a former Coventry resident with making false statements to buy firearms that were later used in a shootout last month that killed a border patrol agent in the same Northeast Kingdom town. Michelle Zajko, 32, allegedly provided a false address when buying three firearms from the Last Frontier gun store in Mount Tabor in February 2024, according to charging documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Burlington.

Feb 18, 2025 | joemiller.us | Peter D'Auria |Alan J. Keays

Three figures linked to multiple killings in several states, including the January shooting of a border patrol officer in Coventry, Vermont, were arrested Sunday evening in Allegany County, Maryland, according to county records. Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, Daniel Arthur Blank, and Jack Amadeus LaSota — also known as “Ziz” — were arrested and charged with several misdemeanors after allegedly trespassing on private property in Frostburg, Maryland, according to court records.