Connecticut man denies killing pair in Woodbury in 2018

Detective Sgt. James Vooris, of the Vermont State Police, said in his 27-page affidavit David Thompson, 48, Carol Fradette, 29, and their dogs were shot and killed and their homes set on fire on Bliss Road in Woodbury on October 30, 2018. Vooris said an investigation revealed Gomez had been selling large quantities of heroin to Thompson, and Thompson owed Gomez over $20,000.

He said Gomez traveled to Woodbury from Hartford, killed Thompson and Fradette, who was Thompson’s partner, and then set their adjacent homes on fire in what was believed to be an attempt to conceal the murders.

He said Gomez has denied any knowledge of or involvement in the deaths. Vooris said investigators found glassine bags and other evidence of Thompson being involved in drug dealing inside Thompson’s home, but the fire had damaged the bags so police could not determine whether they contained heroin. He said $10,700 in cash was found hidden inside a binder in the kitchen. Vooris said interviews with friends, family and associates of Thompson revealed he had been selling heroin and crack cocaine in the Woodbury area for years and had been receiving the drugs from someone outside Vermont. He said investigators were told Thompson had decided to stop selling drugs because Fradette was on probation, and he wanted to get out of the business. He said those who knew Thompson reported he owed a substantial amount of money to people and they believed that coupled with Thompson getting out of the drug business led to his death.

He said a cellphone was found on the ground outside the home. Vooris said a warrant was issued so police could obtain records from Verizon Wireless for the phone.

The detective said the name on the account for the phone was listed as “José Calderon” with an address of 45 Sand Hill Road in Marshfield. Vooris said that address does not exist and it appears Calderon may have been an alias because investigators have not been able to positively identify who that is. Vooris said Gomez later admitted to using aliases and having multiple cellphones to conduct drug deals.

He said FBI Special Agent Eric Perry analyzed data from the phone and discovered it was activated in a Walmart in Manchester, Connecticut, on May 20, 2018. He said data from cellphone towers that connected to the phone showed it left Woodbury on Oct. 30, 2018, and traveled to Hartford, Connecticut. He said the phone returned to Vermont later that day on Interstate 91 and eventually connected to a cellphone tower that provides coverage to Bliss Road. Vooris said Massachusetts State Police used a license plate reader to check vehicles that drove across the Connecticut-Massachusetts border at the same time the cellphone was connecting to towers along that route on its way into and out of Vermont. He said investigators identified a black 2005 Honda Accord registered to Gomez’s current girlfriend who lives in Manchester, Connecticut.

He said a DNA sample found on the phone was a match for Gomez. He said email and Facebook accounts used on the phone were traced back to Gomez.

Vooris said Gomez was pulled over in Chester in January 2016 for speeding and inside the vehicle police found 150 bags of heroin. He said Gomez did not show up to his arraignment in that case and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

In April 2019, he said Gomez crashed a vehicle into a tree in East Hartford, Connecticut, after police tried to pull him over for speeding. Vooris said Gomez attempted to flee on foot, but was apprehended by officers. Inside the vehicle, he said police found an AR-15 rifle with a round in the chamber. Vooris said Gomez told investigators he got the gun in Vermont.

Vooris said Gomez was interviewed on July 15. He said Gomez admitted to selling heroin in Vermont.

The detective said Gomez reported he had sold drugs in Vermont from 2015 to 2019.

Gomez told Vooris he would sell drugs to Thompson, and he had heard about Thompson’s death, but Gomez wasn’t involved in it.

Shortly after the killings, Vooris said Gomez reported he had gone up to see Thompson and then saw the home was taped off with yellow police tape.

Vooris said Gomez admitted the phone found at the scene might have been his. He said Gomez reported he lost the phone on Thompson’s property about a week before the murders. But Vooris said data collected from the phone showed it had been in use as of Oct. 30, 2018, and had left Connecticut shortly before a neighbor of Thompson’s had called 911 to report the home was on fire.

The detective said Gomez was interviewed again on Oct. 26. He said Gomez admitted to traveling to Florida for a few weeks a few days after he had been to Thompson’s home for the last time.

He said Gomez reported he has four children, so if he did commit the murders, he would admit to it in the hopes of getting out of prison sooner and being there for his kids.

Vooris said Gomez reported Thompson owed him a little more than $20,000 for heroin Thompson had been fronted.

The detective said a witness reported overhearing a conversation Gomez had with someone about Thompson where Gomez said “it wouldn’t be a go in quiet job” because of the dogs on the property and Gomez would have to “handle the dogs.” Gomez had been in custody at the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in New York, on an federal conviction for illegal possession of a firearm from the 2019 chase in Connecticut. He was released from that custody Wednesday and transferred to the custody of the state.

eric.blaisdell

@timesargus.com