Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos (WPTZ screenshot)
A 54-year-old prosecutor in Vermont found herself on the wrong side of the law after she allegedly showed up to the scene of a suspicious death drunk and then suggested that police exercise their “discretion” and not place her under arrest. Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos was taken into custody last month and charged with one count of driving under the influence — refusal of sobriety test, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Vermont State Police, troopers with the Vermont State Police on the night of Thursday Jan. 24 were “processing a potential crime scene” at a residence located on Swinton Road in Bridport as part of an ongoing investigation and decided to call Vekos. The residence is about 40 miles south of Burlington, Vermont.
The troopers were at the home of Stephen Nuciolo Sr. after an autopsy report determined that the circumstances of his death were suspicious, the Addison County Independent reported.
Vekos responded to the scene, driving herself there at about 8:50 p.m., the release states. Shortly after she arrived, officers at the scene said they “detected the odor of intoxicants” emanating from the prosecutor and “observed indicators of impairment such as slurred speech.”
“Vekos refused to undergo standardized field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest for DUI – Refusal,” the release states.
Troopers transported Vekos to the state police barracks in New Haven, Vermont, where she was processed and later released on a citation to appear for arraignment. Authorities also noted that while at the barracks, Vekos “refused to cooperate with being fingerprinted and photographed.”
Court documents obtained by VTDigger provided additional details about the allegations against Vekos.
According to the report, two officers at about 9:20 p.m. approached Vekos, who had returned to her car and was sitting in the driver’s seat, and asked her if she’s consumed any alcohol and, if so, how much. She reportedly replied that she had a single gin and tonic with the burger she ate for dinner.
One of the troopers then asked Vekos to take a field sobriety test, which she allegedly did not want to take.
“Are you serious Ryan, can’t you just have a friend come and get me?” she reportedly said to the trooper.
When she was told that she would not be allowed to phone a friend, and troopers again asked her to take a sobriety test, Vekos allegedly refused.
“It doesn’t matter if I do the tests or not, however I perform, you’re going to take me under arrest,” she reportedly told the troopers.
Once back at the barracks, Vekos allegedly still smelled of alcohol and indicated that authorities were not obligated to place her under arrest.
“While speaking with Vekos, I detected a moderate odor of intoxicants emanating from her, her eyes were watery, and she had mumbled speech at times,” another officer wrote. “Vekos then asked me if I knew that discretion was allowed, and I informed her we as a Department do not take discretion with DUI.”
That’s when authorities say Vekos indicated that her arrest would have a negative impact on the relations between the state police and the state attorney’s office.
“She then stated this was going to damage the relationship with her office which she has worked hard to build with law enforcement because (the arresting officer) doesn’t know how to apply discretion and he didn’t go to his supervisors,” the affidavit stated. “I told her I was not going to argue with her about it and that was a discussion for another day.”
Vekos’ attorney, David Sleigh, told the Independent that there was no evidence of his client driving erratically or committing a crime.
“It is a crime to refuse a reasonable request for an evidentiary breath alcohol test — if you have a prior DWI conviction. If you don’t have a prior DWI conviction, the Vermont Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that the operators have a choice whether to submit a sample for testing, or not,” he reportedly told the newspaper. “There’s nothing criminal about refusing to take a test. There are potential sanctions, such as license suspension, if a judge finds the officer’s request for the test was reasonable. And in order to support that, they have to show they had some articulable suspicion — supported by facts — that Eva had violated the drunk driving statute.”
Vekos is scheduled to appear for her arraignment on Monday afternoon in Middlebury Superior Court.
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