Mike Donoghue

Free Press Staff Writer

ATF%3A Arrested policeman stole drugs%2C gun from evidence locker%2C shared them with felon

Suspended Detective Cpl. Tyler Kinney%2C convicted felon Peter Burnett due in court today

Allegations%3A Kinney kept drugs in police cruiser%2C stole from drug-take-back day.

There was full agreement Wednesday from the prosecution, the defense and a federal judge that a veteran Colchester police officer, whom officials say used stolen heroin for a year with a convicted felon, needs care in a residential drug-treatment facility immediately.

Suspended Detective Cpl. Tyler Kinney was led into federal court in Burlington with his hands cuffed behind him for a brief appearance before Magistrate Judge John Conroy.

"You appear to be in desperate need of intervention," Conroy told Kinney. The judge made the remark after hearing comments from Assistant U.S. Attorney William Darrow and defense lawyer John Pacht and reviewing public court records and a private report from the pretrial-services office.

Conroy agreed to postpone the initial hearing until 2 p.m. Friday to see if a bed can be located. Until Friday, Kinney will remain in custody. Kinney did not enter a plea, as is typical for initial appearances in federal court.

Pacht later told reporters outside the courthouse on Elmwood Avenue that he hopes to find a spot within a few days. Even with a shortage of treatment beds in Vermont, Pacht said, he expects Kinney, 38, of Jericho will be able to stay close to home.

"I think we will be able to find something in Vermont relatively quickly," the defense lawyer said. "The Probation Department federally has fairly good access to beds."

Pacht said Kinney, who has been jailed without bail since Monday night, is trying to move forward.

"He is doing what he needs to do. This is a very difficult time," the veteran defense attorney said.

Darrow said the government sought to detain Kinney "only until the defense can find a residential drug-treatment center." He noted the serious nature of the crime, which carries a minimum 10-year sentence.

He said that Kinney was unable to provide a drug test Wednesday, but his level of addiction was outlined in court papers.

Court hearings

The fourth floor courtroom at U.S. District Court was nearly full with family, friends, journalists, employees of various federal government offices, federal agents and other observers Wednesday afternoon. Kinney wore an untucked button-up shirt and jeans during his brief proceeding. His wife watched from the gallery, her hands clasped in her lap.

Kinney is charged with distributing heroin Nov. 1 and stealing a .38-caliber revolver from the Colchester Police Department's evidence room and giving the handgun to a convicted felon, court records state.

Kinney, suspended without pay, admitted to investigators he has used opiates for about one year and "was attempting to recover from opiate addiction," a court affidavit stated.

Kinney's case began to unfold following an unrelated drug search on North Avenue by Burlington police at about 6 a.m. Monday.

Police arrested Peter M. Burnett, 25, on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of handgun — the revolver stolen from the Colchester police evidence room.

Burnett appeared briefly in the same courtroom ahead of Kinney. He was released on his own recognizance and conditions requiring him to have no contact with Kinney and to avoid using alcohol and drugs. He and his lawyer, Frank Twarog, declined comment.

Burnett has about two dozen criminal convictions, including at least two felony unlawful-mischief cases that resulted in more than $1,000 in damage in Chittenden County, Vermont Superior Court records show.

Under federal law, convicted felons are prohibited from possessing firearms.

Special Agent Matthew Ekstrom of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who is working with Burlington police on the investigation, filed affidavits outlining the cases against Kinney and Burnett.

The Burlington police search at Burnett's home Monday turned up the .38-caliber handgun under the dresser in his bedroom, the affidavit stated.

Burnett, who said he was given the gun for protection, said he had the weapon while sleeping in bed Monday, but when he heard police trying to enter his home he wrapped it up in a T-shirt and tried to hide the gun.

Kinney was arrested later that day.

As the Burlington police investigation unfolded throughout the day Monday and grew to include federal authorities, law enforcement discovered that drugs also were missing from the secure evidence room, which Kinney was assigned to control.

New details

ATF Agent Ekstrom's two affidavits offered new details in the case:

Speaking with police after they found the revolver, Burnett said he received the firearm from Kinney, a 12-year police veteran. Burnett said Colchester police had had him about a year ago.

"Burnett stated that the two men developed a friendship, which evolved into them using heroin together. Burnett had obtained heroin for himself and Kinney to use. Also, Burnett said, Kinney obtained heroin for both of them to use," Ekstrom wrote.

Burnett said Kinney reported that he took items out of the Colchester police evidence room for both men to use.

Burnett said Kinney gave him pure heroin, which was used to train police canines. Kinney also discussed with Burnett the possibility of selling methamphetamine the detective would supply in order to obtain heroin, the ATF agent wrote.

Ekstrom wrote that Kinney confessed when police questioned him Monday night.

Kinney admitted to investigators he took some prescription medications that Colchester residents had turned in during the voluntary drug-take-back campaigns and from a drop-off box in the lobby of the Colchester Police Department, the affidavit stated.

Kinney told investigators they could find some drugs in the trunk of his Colchester police cruiser, and a search uncovered about 1.5 grams of heroin in a plastic baggie in the center console, Ekstrom stated.

Gov. Peter Shumlin, speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Montpelier, said the Colchester case shows that addiction affects people in all professions and life situations.

"This is a terrible, terrible disease," Shumlin said. "It makes folks do things that they would never otherwise do."

The governor added: "My heart goes out to law enforcement in Colchester, who are doing a great job," and also to the people of Colchester.

Colchester Police Chief Jennifer Morrison called the incident the "darkest day" in the nearly 50-year history of her department.

MORE COVERAGE

Contributing: April Burbank and Elizabeth Murray, Free Press. Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.

EDITOR'S NOTE: During the course of reporting this story at federal court late Wednesday afternoon, Free Press Staff Writer Mike Donoghue learned that his godmother at baptism, Elizabeth Durick, was a grandmother of Tyler Kinney. The godmother was not related to the reporter, and his minimal contact with her over the years is believed to have ended in the 1960s. He has had no known social contact with the defendant.