Shooting suspect arrested 7 weeks ago
Jody Herring, the woman suspected of killing three family members and then a Vermont state social worker last week, was arrested in June on suspicion of second-offense drunken driving.
Records from the Vermont State Police show Herring, 40, of South Barre had a blood-alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit for driving when she was detained June 23 in Rockingham. She was released on a citation.
The records indicate the encounter was Herring’s last brush with the law before Friday, when she was tackled outside the Department for Children and Families office in Barre after shooting social worker Lara Sobel twice with a high-powered rifle, police and court documents say.
Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell and other state officials say they believe Herring shot and killed two of her cousins and an aunt at a home in nearby Berlin before ambushing Sobel, 48, of East Montpelier as the social worker left the office Friday afternoon. Herring was upset after losing custody of her 9-year-old daughter earlier this summer, the authorities say.
Herring has been charged only in connection with Sobel’s killing. The defendant pleaded not guilty Monday in Vermont Superior Court in Barre to one count of first-degree murder. She is being held without bail. More charges are possible, investigators say.
The drunken driving case was listed in Herring’s rap sheet Monday, but no details were made public. The state police say Herring was clocked speeding at 75 mph while driving north at about 2:55 a.m. June 23 on Interstate 91 in Rockingham.
Trooper Ryan Wood said police “detected the odor of intoxicants” and asked Herring to perform roadside sobriety exercises.
Herring provided a preliminary breath test, which returned a result of 0.148 percent blood alcohol content, Wood said. The legal limit for adult drivers in Vermont is 0.08 percent.
She was unsteady standing, walking and while performing dexterity exercises, Wood wrote.
Herring was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, taken to the state police barracks in Rockingham, processed and then released on a citation to appear in court on the misdemeanor DUI-2 charge.
She also received a written warning for speeding.
Police said she listed her home address as the Addison County town of Salisbury.
Court documents in the DUI case describe Herring as “an intravenous heroin user.” She has one drug conviction on her record, a case from 2003 that resulted in a suspended sentence and probation for misdemeanor heroin possession, according to court records.
She has 11 misdemeanor convictions dating to 1994, including drunken driving, fraud and a domestic-assault case that eventually was amended to disorderly conduct, records show.
At the state police station, Herring provided a breath sample that showed a 0.110 BAC, court records show. She told the police she had one tequila drink more than two hours earlier at a club in Connecticut.
Herring also said she was taking the attention-deficit-disorder drug Ritalin and had been the victim of a domestic assault in October in which she was strangled.
Herring’s attorney David Sleigh said Tuesday he lacked enough information to comment.
“This is just all coming in very rapidly,” he said, “and I haven’t had a chance to look at anything yet.”
Trooper Wood’s statement, issued to the media later that day, said Herring’s initial court appearance was July 14. Her next court appearance in the DUI case is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Superior Court in Brattleboro.
Herring’s previous drunken-driving incident occurred in November 1998 in Caledonia County, according to court records. She was convicted of the misdemeanor and fined $375.
She previously had racked up three charges of driving on a suspended license.
EARLIER COVERAGE
- Police: Suspect 'calm and laughing' after slaying
- VT social workers return in mourning
- Relative: 3 slain in Berlin linked to DCF suspect
- Officials: DCF worker killed after custody dispute
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the following: Jody Herring received a written warning for speeding and was due in court July 14. The information was incorrect in a previous version.
This story was first posted online on Aug. 11, 2015. Contact Adam Silverman at 802-660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wej12.