FAIRFAX B&E RESULTS IN DEAL FOR TWO MEN

Fairfax B&E results in deal for two men
By LEE J. KAHRS
Messenger Staff Writer

ST. ALBANS — Two Chittenden County men were given suspended sentences in Vermont District Court Thursday for burglarizing a Fairfax farmer's home in June.

Peter A. Shumway, 23, of Burlington, and Jarrett E Erwin, 26, of Shelburne, were each sentenced to three to 10 years with all time suspended, plus 60 days on a work crew.
Irwin originally pleaded not guilty to burglary, possessing burglary tools, and possessing stolen property in connection with the alleged break-in at Kevin Bushey's Cherrieryille Road farm on June 1.

Shumway was charged with burglary, aggravated assault with the deadly weapon, and reckless endangerment.

Both men entered into plea agreements with the state. They are required to keep their jobs, enter substance abuse counseling, and have no contact with Bushey.

Not that they would want to. According to court records, Bushey drove by his house on a tractor at 6:10 a.m. June 1 and saw an unfamiliar vehicle in his driveway. He looked in the back seat of the car and saw a change jar he described as his "NASCAR fund" sitting there.
When Bushey went into the basement, he saw Shumway holding his 9mm handgun and his hunting rifle - pointed at Bushey.

"I felt queasy at first," Bushey later told police, "but then the adrenaline kicked in."
Shumway hit Bushey in the arm with the butt of the rifle, but Bushey knocked it away He then dragged Shumway upstairs, took a screwdriver and popped all four tires of the suspicious car.

When Bushey brought Shumway back inside to call Vermont State Police, he noticed Erwin running to the car.

Bushey let go of Shumway, who allegedly fled on foot, and then chased the other vehicle in his truck. Bushey eventually knocked the car off the road and into a ditch, so that Erwin could not escape.

During his initial interview with police, Erwin denied any wrongdoing and claimed he had parked at Bushey's barn to draw a "nice scene," because he likes to draw. When police tracked the cell phone to Shumway, Erwin confessed and said they had gone to Bushey's house looking for marijuana.

Shumway was initially on the run following the burglary, but he turned himself into police the following day. He has no prior convictions.

Erwin's criminal record lists convictions for possessing marijuana and leaving an accident scene.

A call to Kevin Bushey for comment on the sentencing was not returned by press time.