Police arrest suspect in Burlington stabbing

Burlington police have arrested a man with a lengthy criminal record on suspicion of stabbing another transient during a fight Monday evening on a crowded Burlington sidewalk.

Jason Ploof, 31, has 13 felony and misdemeanor convictions and was on probation at the time of the incident, police said in a tweet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday — 23 hours after the stabbing occurred.

The investigation progressed quickly. Tuesday morning, city police had "no strong leads," Deputy Police Chief Bruce Bovat said shortly before noon. By evening, law enforcement had their suspect.

Ploof was jailed for lack of $25,000 bail Tuesday night at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington. His arraignment on a charge of aggravated assault is scheduled for Wednesday in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington, the police said. Corrections Department records gave no indication whether Ploof had a lawyer.

A dispute over territory precipitated the stabbing, Bovat said.

"They were fighting over the best location to panhandle," he said.

The victim, identified Tuesday evening, was 51-year-old Perry E. Thornley Jr. He was stabbed multiple times in the torso, Lt. Paul Glynn said in a statement. The injuries were non-life-threatening.

Thornley was in fair condition Tuesday night at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

No weapon was recovered at the scene, and it was unknown what implement the perpetrator used, Bovat said before the arrest was announced.

Shortly after the incident Monday night, police described the case as one of aggravated assault or attempted murder.

The incident happened at a busy time on Main Street, right outside City Hall and across the street from the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, where shows were underway. The victim was taken to UVM Medical Center in fair condition with multiple wounds, Sgt. Jon Young said Monday night.

A warm night with the temperature above 55 degrees left downtown streets crowded.

Young said investigators believed there was no danger to the public.

"There was a large amount of people downtown just because it's nice out," Young said. "However, this was strictly an altercation between two transient males."

Suzanne Slesar and her husband, John Sudarsky, of Charlotte were at the Flynn to drop off their son for a jazz performance just after the incident occurred. They saw a police officer talking to three or four men across the street from City Hall Park, just outside the Flynn, and then suddenly the area was swarming with law enforcement.

"All of a sudden, five police cars came screaming to the scene, and the ambulance, and the fire truck," Sudarsky said.

Inside the Kountry Kart Deli next door to the Flynn, night shift supervisor Bob Stauss said he was unaware of anything out of the ordinary until a policeman came inside.

"We were having a little rush at the time," Stauss said.

Then the Kountry Kart staff saw a lot of emergency vehicles right outside.

"I just saw a bunch of blue lights and then an ambulance," grill cook Luke Mayo said.

Yellow tape marked "fire line do not cross" cordoned off the area around the scene on the north side of Main Street. At least five Burlington police cruisers and SUVs were parked in the westbound lane, though the road remained open to traffic.

A medical kit sat on the ground inside the cordoned-off area. At one point, an officer packed several items into a brown paper bag and loaded the bag into the back of an SUV.

Patrons emerging from a Flynn performance paused to stare at the scene unfolding across the street. Several people whose cars were parked behind the police line asked officers whether they were free to take their vehicles and go, and one by one, the authorities allowed them to leave.

Eventually, only one vehicle remained. Officers politely told the owner she couldn't leave just yet. They still had to dust the Jeep for fingerprints.

This story was first posted online on Dec. 14, 2015. Contributing: Elizabeth Murray, Free Press. Contact Adam Silverman at 660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wej12.