Terrick CraftWHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. -
According to Springfield
Police, Terrick Craft, 28, fired multiple shots at Nicholas Brown, 31. Court
papers say the two Springfield men got into a fight just before the shooting.
The altercation happened Monday night near an intersection of Main Street,
about 100 yards from downtown Springfield. It is unclear what sparked the
fight, but court papers say Craft walked up to Brown and pulled out a gun.
Police say Brown then punched Craft in the face and Craft started firing. Four
rounds were recovered from the scene.
But Craft's family members
who were in court Wednesday and on the scene of the shooting Monday night tell
a different story.
"We did not fire no
shots. I heard shots. I grabbed my cousin off the ground and we started running
because I heard shots. There was other people there. He got jumped. When I came
around the corner he got jumped. I seen him on the ground," said Lamar
Carter, Craft's cousin.
Brown is the only person
other than Craft named in the affidavit. Windsor County State's Attorney Robert
Sand says the investigation is continuing and more interviews are being
conducted. But Sand also says it's not unusual that a case is filed based upon
the sworn statement of one person.
"I am angry about
that," Carter said. "It is one man's word against another man's word
and he is locked up for just what this one person said."
Craft invoked the 24-hour
rule at Wednesday's arraignment and is due back in court Thursday. If convicted
on the attempted murder charge, he faces the possibility of life behind bars.
Craft has been in Vermont
for about four years and he has a lengthy criminal record, including several
felonies. And, because he is
a convicted felon accused of firing a handgun, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms is also involved in this case.
Related Story:
Attempted murder in Springfield
