Three Firefighters Arrested in Hyde Park

STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE PRESS RELEASE

Three Arrests in Hyde Park for Simple Assault and Unlawful Restraint
Det. Sgt. Jacob Zorn, Bradford Barracks, Vermont State Police - (802) 222-4680

Hyde Park, VT – 5/10/12 – On April 26, 2012 the Vermont State Police received a request from the Hyde Park Select Board via the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department to open an investigation into an incident that took place at the Hyde Park Fire Station between three members of the fire department and a juvenile who is associated with the fire department.

During the subsequent investigation, detectives learned that on March 23, 2012, Sydney Mclean-Lipinski, age 25 of Hyde Park, Joshua Kapusta, age 24 of Morrisville, and Nate Jobe, age 21 of Hyde Park, planned a practical joke to be played against the juvenile. The plan was to lure the juvenile to the fire station under the pretense of helping to set up for training. Once the juvenile arrived they planned to ambush the juvenile, shoot the juvenile with airsoft guns, wrestle the juvenile to the ground, restrain the juvenile with handcuffs and ropes, then take the juvenile for a ride in the back of a truck on bumpy roads where they would leave him in a remote part of the Town of Eden.

Mclean-Lipinski, Kapusta, and Jobe lured the juvenile to the station and ambushed him. While shooting the juvenile with the airsoft guns, which caused minor injuries, the three suspects attempted to tackle him and put handcuffs on him. The juvenile was able to escape and run away; thus thwarting their plan to restrain him and take him to Eden.

After review by the Lamoille County State’s Attorney’s, Mclean-Lipinski, Kapusta, and Jobe were charged with Simple Assault and Attempted Unlawful Restraint. The three have been issued citations to appear in the Lamoille County Superior Court to answer to these charges on May 30, 2012 at 12:30 PM. Arrest processing photos were taken of Mclean-Lipinski and Jobe but not Kapusta.

The name of the juvenile victim, and any identifying information, is being withheld, per policy.