Burlington shooting: Woman arrested in connection to Old North End incident

Elizabeth Murray
Burlington Free Press

A woman has been arrested in connection to an incident during which two men were shot — one fatally — in the Old North End of Burlington this week.

The shooting was the second one to occur in the Old North End within the last month. Police do not believe the two shooting incidents are connected, according to Burlington Police Deputy Chief Jon Murad.

UPDATE:Three more people with Florida ties will face charges related to Burlington shooting

Lesine Woodson, 32, of Orlando, Florida, appeared by video in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday. She pleaded not guilty to aiding in the commission of second-degree murder and being an accessory after the fact. Judge Martin Maley ordered her jailed without bail at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington pending a bail review hearing yet to be scheduled.

Lesine Woodson appears via video for her arraignment in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. She is charged with aiding in the commission of murder and being an accessory after the fact in yesterday's fatal shooting on North Willard Avenue in Burlington.

During the incident Tuesday, Benzel Hampton, 23, of Burlington was shot in the head and killed. James Felix, 36, of Florida, was injured and brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment. Detective Lt. James Trieb said Felix is expected to recover but remains at the hospital in critical condition on Wednesday.

Both men were shot multiple times. Police believe the shooting was the result of a drug debt owed, Trieb said.

More:One dead after drug-related shootout in Burlington's Old North End

Police are continuing to search for two unidentified "persons of interest" who they believe were present at the time of the shooting. Trieb said police want to identify them and find out what their roles were.

"I don't think there's any risk to the public," Trieb said. "This wasn't random. These folks knew each other."

Benzel Hampton, 23, of Burlington

Witness: Person called Hampton, 'said they would shoot him today'

According to the affidavit in Woodson's case, witnesses say several people confronted Hampton outside a home on North Willard Street in Burlington and forced him down to the ground before shooting him at close range. A gun was recovered from the scene, according to Sgt. Dan Merchand, but he said police are still investigating to whom the gun may have belonged.

Hampton's girlfriend told police that Hampton received a call on the phone they shared from a blocked call early that morning with a voice they did not recognize. 

"The person who called threatened Benzel that they would shoot him today," the woman told police. While she said Hampton passed it off as a joke, she said he had received threats from Woodson's nephew in the past. She did not know the details of their conflict.

Jonette Somers told police she had invited Hampton to her home to help her with a mattress, and that the shooting occurred when the two were walking back outside. Hampton's girlfriend had been waiting in the car while Hampton went inside, the affidavit states. 

Somers told police that when she and Hampton walked outside, she saw an unknown man in a black jacket. Moments later, she heard a disturbance behind her and turned around to see Hampton on the ground with the man on top of him. A second man holding a handgun then appeared, which was when the shooting began, the affidavit states. 

"Somers stated that she screamed at them to stop, and then ran to a neighbor's house," the affidavit states. "Somers stated that she did not hear any argument or words spoken, and when Hampton was on the ground the second male 'whipped out his gun and started shooting.'"

'He's done, he's done, stop, stop!'

Hampton's girlfriend said she believed one of the people who attacked Hampton was Woodson's nephew. Two men had guns and shot Hampton at point-blank range, she said, according to the affidavit. 

Another witness's video, which was provided to police, showed three men wearing hooded jackets crossing the street toward a black Nissan Pathfinder following the shooting. Two of the men were assisting a third man who was limping, the affidavit states. 

Somers estimated that four to six gunshots were fired. Hampton's girlfriend said Hampton did not shoot anyone. 

According to the affidavit, Hampton's girlfriend said she saw Woodson standing in the middle of the road yelling something to the effect of, "He's done, he's done, stop, stop!"

Jonette Somers looks at blood stains left in the driveway that a friend tried to wash away Wednesday morning, April 17, 2019, following Tuesday night's fatal shooting of Benzel Hampton outside her apartment on North Willard Avenue. Somers said that Hampton came to help her move a mattress that someone left in the alley next to her place. "He died in my arms," she said.

Police: Woodson lied to investigators

Police first spoke to Woodson at the hospital, where she identified herself as the romantic interest of James Felix, the other person who was shot. She said she and Felix had arrived in Vermont about one month ago and were staying at the Motel 6 in Colchester, the affidavit states. 

Woodson told police she had been driving in the black SUV attempting to locate Felix following an argument, and that's when she came across the shooting scene. She arrived to find two men assisting Felix into the car, and she began to drive him to the hospital. She stated that upon encountering an ambulance, she flagged it down and abandoned the car on Colchester Avenue. 

After changing her story several times, Woodson said she knew the two men who assisted Felix from purchasing small amounts of marijuana from them, but she did not have their names or contact information, the affidavit states.

Police later discovered that Woodson and Felix had not been staying at the Motel 6, as she had said. She was then arrested, according to the affidavit. 

If found guilty, Woodson faces up to 27 years in prison for the two counts. 

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.