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

Elizabeth Murray
Burlington Free Press

Three more people will face charges related to a shooting in the Old North End of Burlington this week during which two men were shot, one fatally, Burlington Police said in a news release Thursday. 

James Felix, 36, of Florida; Brandon Sanders, 18, of Burlington; and Johnny Ford, 32, of Florida are accused of attacking Benzel Hampton in the driveway of 235 North Willard Street and killing him. Hampton, 23, of Burlington was shot in the head and killed. 

Felix also sustained injuries in an exchange of gunfire, police said. He was brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment. 

Benzel Hampton, 23, of Burlington

Burlington police believe the shooting was the result of a drug debt owed, Lt. James Trieb has said. The motive remains under investigation. 

Lesine Woodson, 32, had also been charged in relation to the incident appeared in court Wednesday. The Orlando, Florida, resident was jailed without bail pending a bail review hearing. 

“A fatal shooting in the middle of the afternoon on a residential street is intolerable,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger in a written statement. “Our officers know that, and worked skillfully over thirty hours to bring all of those responsible for this attack to justice. The message of their work should be clear to all: We will not stand for violence in Burlington, and we will work relentlessly to ensure the safety of all in our community.”

James Felix, 36, of Florida

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. 

"The Burlington Police Department has spoken with the sister, girlfriend and estranged wife of Benzel Hampton, and expressed the city’s condolences over his murder," Burlington police wrote in a news release. "We have reassured them that we have captured the suspects in his killing and will seek justice. Hampton leaves behind two young children."

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Two men arrested in Connecticut

Sanders and Ford were both arrested by Enfield, Connecticut, police Wednesday evening, according to a Facebook post by the police department.

Burlington police said that approximately twelve hours after the shooting, Ford entered the MGM Grand Casino in Springifeld, Massachusetts, and played poker. Eleven hours later, after a dispute with the casino’s staff, he was ejected by the state’s Gaming Enforcement Division.

Brandon Sanders, 18, of Burlington

Sanders was taken into custody after his car was stopped on Interstate 91. The arrest shut down several lanes of the highway, Burlington police said. 

"The vehicle he occupied, determined to be of interest to the Burlington Police, was initially spotted and surveilled by authorities in Massachusetts, then followed into Connecticut," Burlington police said in a news release. 

Ford was later arrested by a SWAT team in Connecticut at a Motel 6. Other local and federal authorities also assisted in the apprehension, Burlington police said. Enfield police said authorities executed a search warrant of the motel room, finding 107 grams of crack cocaine and $17,000 in cash.

Enfield Police Department

The Enfield Police Department said the two men are being jailed in lieu of $1,000,000 bond on fugitive from justice charges in Connecticut. It is unclear when they will be back in Vermont for arraignment. Attempts to reach Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George were not immediately successful.

Ford's record in Florida includes arrests on suspicion of robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery, carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated battery, petty theft, felony theft, resisting arrest, sale of cocaine, cocaine possession, possession of a controlled substance, and contempt of court. Sanders has previously been arrested in Florida on suspicion of robbery and larceny.

Johnny Ford, 32, of Florida

Police: Shooting occurred as victim was closing drug deal

Police said Thursday that the three men attacked Hampton as he was finishing up a drug deal with a resident on North Willard Street. A quantity of crack cocaine was later recovered from his body, police said.

As Hampton was wrestled to the ground, he and his attackers exchanged gunfire, police said. Hampton's fiancee Chelsey Russell later told police that she believed Hampton did not shoot anyone. A gun was recovered from the scene. 

Lesine Woodson, 32, of Orlando, Florida.

Felix was shot several times, so the three men retreated to a nearby Nissan Pathfinder driven by Woodson. While they drove toward the hospital, they flagged down a passing ambulance on Colchester Avenue, police said. When police responded there, they found Sanders and Ford had fled. 

Hours later, the two men procured the vehicle that they used to flee the state, police said.

The Pathfinder left on Colchester Avenue was borrowed from a Winooski resident who later told police that she could only identify the men who borrowed the car by their nicknames, new court papers in the case Thursday showed. 

She "stated that she knew the two males from their association with a group out of Florida who sold 'crack' cocaine and heroin in the Chittenden County, VT, area," an affidavit states. She added that she had purchased drugs from this group in the past.

Police searched the Pathfinder afterward, and they found an airline ticket for James Felix from April 6 for a trip from Orlando, Florida to Burlington. Police later obtained video from the Burlington International Airport showing Felix get off the plane. The video shows him get picked up by a car whose license plate number was visible, the affidavit states.

Police then traced the license plate number to a Burlington resident. The woman's vehicle could not be located at her home, and police pinged her phone out of concern for her safety. The phone pings led to the location of the van at Motel 6 in Enfield, Connecticut, the affidavit states. The men were both later arrested by Enfield police.

Sanders and Ford will face charges of aiding in the commission of second-degree murder. Woodson has denied charges of aiding in the commission of second-degree murder and being an accessory after the fact. Court papers had not been filed for Felix as of noon on Thursday.  

Ruby Blanco embraces Chelsey Russell at the two visit a make-shift memorial on Thursday, April 18, 2019, where Benzel Hampton, 23, was shot and killed outside an apartment at 235 North Willard Street in Burlington. Four people have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.

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