A Derby man was taken into custody early Saturday after Vermont State Police said he fired a handgun in the direction of troopers and struck a neighbor's unoccupied vehicle following a crash.
Troopers responded around 11:20 p.m. Friday to an OnStar crash report near the intersection of U.S. Route 5 and Derby Pond Road. OnStar reported possible injuries and shots fired.
On arrival, troopers found a white 2023 GMC Sierra crashed into a tree in a backyard, with front-end and ballistic damage. A passerby told an officer she had seen a man with a handgun running in traffic on Route 5.
As troopers approached the vehicle, a shot was fired from behind a tree. David Gendreau, 46, of Derby, was observed hiding there with a handgun and was taken into custody without injury. Police said Gendreau had crashed on his property, then fired multiple rounds from inside the vehicle, hitting a neighbor's unoccupied car, and fired a round believed to have gone across the roadway as troopers arrived.
Gendreau actively resisted troopers and officers when they tried to secure him in a patrol car, state police said. He was evaluated at North Country Hospital as a precaution and later lodged at the Northern State Correctional Facility after failing to post $500 bail.
He faces charges of disorderly conduct, recklessly endangering another person, unlawful mischief and resisting arrest.
NEK will be looking into David Gendreau's criminal history and events leading to the crash.
Originally reported by WCAX.
Photo: Micah & Sammie Chaffin via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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