Shooting victim's father complains
Toolbox
By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: June 12, 2009
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Massachusetts man whose son was killed last summer is frustrated by what he calls a deliberate effort to keep him from being involved in court proceedings.
At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Vincent Tamburello Sr. left his home in Methuen, Mass., to attend a court date for Timothy Arbuckle, 28, of Chester. In August, Tamburello's son, Vincent Tamburello Jr., was shot and killed in MacKenzie Field in Chester. The man implicated in the shooting — Kyle Bolaski, 25, of Chester — was originally charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a weapon, but in November the murder charge was dropped after a grand jury declined to return a charge of either murder or manslaughter.
In January, Arbuckle was charged with simple assault for allegedly kicking Tamburello Jr. as he lay dying on ground after being shot, and Tuesday's 1 p.m. court date was a status conference for that case.
When Tamburello Sr. arrived, he found Arbuckle's status conference was continued — cancelled for the day — following a motion by Arbuckle's attorney, who had to attend another case in Chelsea District Court.
As he flipped through Bolaski and Arbuckle's files in the court clerk's office, he expressed his frustration that the Windsor County State's Attorney's office hadn't notified him of the cancellation.
"I think it's just horrendous that they don't take the time to tell us what's going on. They're making us suffer more than we should be," Tamburello Sr. said. "As usual, they notified me too late."
Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand said his office had notified Tamburello the court date might be cancelled.
"We told him this morning it was still on, but we anticipated it being taken off (the court calendar)," Sand said Tuesday afternoon.
Sand said his office received an e-mail early that morning from Tamburello Sr. asking if the date was still on. "As soon as we knew what was happening, we let him know."
Tamburello received an e-mail at 11:19 a.m. from Victims' Advocate Pamela Weigel, but by then he had been on the road for nearly an hour.
"What I find odd is he came up without waiting for a response from us," Sand said. "I have no desire to make him more upset. I think it's unfortunate he didn't wait for a response."
Why Tamburello Sr. and the State's Attorney's office are communicating by e-mail and not telephone is a matter of disagreement. Sand asserts Tamburello prefers e-mail because it provides documentation of how unhappy he is with the state. Tamburello claims Sand refuses to speak with him.
"They know how long it takes me to get there. They're not letting me know what's going on and it's a deliberate act," Tamburello Sr. said. "All he's doing is making excuses and we're going to be there whether he wants us there or not."
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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