Frank Caraballo
Joshua Makhanda-LopezBRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont prosecutor says her office will reserve the right to pursue murder charges against two men linked to the killing of a Bellows Falls woman after federal drug charges are resolved.
Twenty-9-year-old Frank "Niddi" Caraballo of Holyoke, Mass., and 22-year-old Joshua Makhanda-Lopez of Springfield, Mass, are both being held without bail on federal drug charges.
The Windham County State's Attorney had charged Caraballo with second degree murder and other offenses and Makhanda-Lopez had been charged with being an accessory in the July shooting death in Dummerston of 31-year-old Melissa Barratt.
Both denied the state charges, which were dismissed after the U.S. Attorney's office decided to pursue the case.
Windham County state's attorney Tracy Shriver tells the Burlington Free Press her office can refile the charges if needed.
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