Eva Vekos, the top prosecutor in Addison County, pleaded not guilty on Monday to a driving-under-the-influence charge lodged after state troopers noticed that she appeared intoxicated at a crime scene.
At the arraignment in Addison County District Court, Judge Thomas Zonay denied defense attorney David Sleigh’s attempt to have the case thrown out.
Zonay did, however, transfer the case to Chittenden County for further proceedings. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case to avoid potential conflicts of interest with Vekos’ own office. The judge determined that fingerprints and photographs of Vekos were unnecessary.
Vekos’ troubles began when she responded to a crime scene on January 25 in Bridport, where state police were investigating the suspicious death of 44-year-old Stephen Nuciolo Sr. When she arrived, troopers noticed that she smelled like alcohol and observed “indicators of impairment,” including slurred speech, according to police affidavits.
After Vekos refused to take a field sobriety test, troopers arrested her and took her to the state police barracks in New Haven. In an affidavit, Trooper Kelsey Dobson said Vekos mistook him for another police officer while being transported.
Once at the barracks, Vekos “refused to cooperate with being fingerprinted and photographed,” police wrote. In an affidavit, Sgt. Eden Neary said Vekos requested the officer take photographs of her wrists, which were marked from handcuffs. Vekos was cited and released.
Vekos has not made any public statements since then and has continued to show up in court as a prosecuting attorney.
On January 31, Vekos emailed law enforcement leaders in the region to let them know she would not meet with them in person, VTDigger.org reported. “I no longer feel safe around law enforcement,” Vekos wrote in an email obtained by the outlet.
Vekos, 54, was elected to her first four-year term as Addison County state’s attorney in November 2022. She has spent much of her career in criminal defense, including juvenile defense.
In March, Vekos is slated to prosecute a fatal DUI case against a man who is accused of striking and killing a woman with his car in 2020.
Toward the end of her arraignment on Monday, Vekos appeared to be crying. As her appearance concluded, she rushed out of the courtroom, evading questions from reporters.
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