Two fugitives connected to Vermont murder captured by federal agents, SWAT team in Enfield

Two men arrested in Enfield late Wednesday were among four total suspects arrested in connection with a murder and gunfight during a drug deal on Tuesday afternoon in Burlington, Vermont.

Brandon Sanders, 18, was arrested during a traffic stop on Interstate 91 in Enfield that closed several lanes of the highway in the late afternoon, Vermont and Connecticut officials said.

Johnny Ford, 32, was arrested late Wednesday night after he holed up for hours in the Motel 6 in Enfield until SWAT officers busted down the door to take him into custody just before 11:30 p.m., officials said.

They and two other suspects arrested in Burlington on Tuesday — 32-year-old Lesine Woodson and 36-year-old James Felix — are expected to be charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Benzel Hampton, Burlington police said Thursday.

“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,” the department said in a written statement. “We have reassured them that we have captured the suspects in his killing and will seek justice. Hampton leaves behind two young children.”

The SWAT incident late Wednesday night in Enfield capped a more than 24-hour-long search across three states to capture Ford and Sanders after police said they fled the scene of Hampton’s murder at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Police do not know the motive behind the attack but said Hampton was completing a drug deal when Felix, Ford and Sanders attacked him and gunfire was exchanged, Burlington police said.

“Minutes before our city’s schools let out, three suspects attacked Benzel Hampton in a driveway a few feet from the sidewalk in a residential neighborhood,” Burlington Chief of Police Brandon del Pozo said. “The gunfire that followed not only killed Hampton and wounded a suspect, but sent bullets everywhere. We were pulling them out of walls and pillars. We are lucky nobody else was injured or killed, especially bystanders.”

Woodson drove the three attackers away from the scene, but Felix was seriously wounded, so the four flagged down an ambulance, Burlington police said. Woodson was arrested and Felix was transported to a nearby Burlington hospital, where he remained in treatment in Thursday, but Ford and Sanders fled the scene before police arrived.

Police believe the pair obtained a new vehicle and fled south into Massachusetts.

Ford entered the MGM Grand Casino in Springfield early Wednesday morning and played poker for 11 hours until he was ejected from the casino by the Massachusetts Gaming Enforcement Division after a dispute with staff, Burlington police said.

Authorities in Massachusetts surveilled the car with both Ford and Sanders into Connecticut, where the car was stopped by Enfield officers and federal agents and Sanders was arrested, police said.

Officers located Ford in the nearby Motel 6 on Hazard Avenue, which began a more than two-hour situation involving the Capitol Region Emergency Service Team and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, officials said.

Enfield police later recovered about $16,000 in cash and more than 100 grams of crack cocaine in the motel room where Ford was apprehended, officials said.

Both Sanders and Ford have previous arrests in Florida, Burlington police said. Sanders arrests include robbery and larceny and Ford’s arrest record includes 10 charges, including sale of cocaine, robbery with a firearm, aggravated battery and carrying a concealed weapon.

“The Burlington Police Department owes a debt of thanks and gratitude” to Connecticut and federal authorities, the department said in a statement. “They did not hesitate to offer assistance in locating and apprehending Sanders and Felix. We are also grateful to the Enfield Police Department for handling the incident quickly, safely and professionally.”

Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.