March 20, 2002:
Police say the shooting incident began around 12:30 today when two masked men invaded the James family first floor apartment at 55 East Street. The invaders reportedly tied up Mrs. James -- three of her chidlren -- including a young daughter with cerebral palsy. Then they pistol-whipped her 19-year-old son but he escaped -- then they shot her husband, 34-year-old Daryl James.  Neighbors say the shooting was predictable because the neighborhood is a hot-bed of open drug dealing -- and the police have ignored their complaints for at least two years.   Police Chief Steve McQueen denied that.. he said it has been difficult to prove some of the residents claims.. but the police ARE working to try and solve the drug problem in that neighborhood.  McQueen also said Winooski has one officer attached to the Northern Vermont Drug Task Force and that squad is working on the overall drug problem.

March 22, 2002:
The victim of a shooting in Winooski was released from the hospital Thursday. Police are still searching for the three gunmen who invaded the James family's apartment Wednesday, tied up Barbara James and her children, and shot Daryl James. One bullet grazed James head, the other is still in his groin. ... Neighbors think James knows exactly why he was shot. They say there has been a lot of drug dealing on the street. James says people think frequent visitors mean drug dealing. But he's not aware of any drug dealing in his neighborhood. James says he had never seen the gunmen before and he wonders why they wanted to rob his family which is on public assistance. ... Winooski Police Chief Steve McQueen says investigators are certain the James family was specifically targeted for some reason. As for the gunmen, police say they are following up on some leads, but they would like to hear from anyone with information about this crime

April 10, 2002:
Massachusetts Men have been Arrested In Winooski Shooting Case. Two brothers from Massachusetts are facing charges in connection a shooting last month in Winooski. Vermont State Police says 21-year-old Kevin McLeod has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting Daryl James in the head and in the groin at his home. He was not seriously hurt. McLeod's brother, 27-year-old Jermain McLeod, is charged with kidnapping for his alleged role in tying up the other occupants at the home. The two were arrested Monday in Worcester by the Massachusetts State Police. They are being held for lack of $2 million bail. Police have not suggested a motive for the shooting. Police are still searching for two additional suspects. -- end --

April 11, 2002:
Police have arrested two brothers from Massachusetts Massachusetts in connection with the shooting of a Winooski man in his apartment last month. James, who was grazed on the left side of his head and still has a bullet lodged in his lower abdomen, was treated at the hospital and released the day after the shooting. Investigators speaking Wednesday at a news conference at the Vermont State Police station in Williston would not discuss a possible motive for the shooting. Police said they are seeking two others connected to the case -- a black man with a "lazy eye" and a white woman with dyed strawberry-blonde hair. Both are believed to be in their 20s and could still be in Vermont, though state police Lt. Tim Bombardier said police do not know if the man and woman are Vermont residents. ... Bombardier said the McLeods have criminal records but was unable to provide details. Kevin McLeod was charged with attempted murder, Bombardier said, because police believe he was trying to kill and not just wound James.

August 17, 2002:
A 67-year-old resident of a senior-housing complex in Winooski facing charges of selling cocaine and endangering a child after police found a 25-year-old woman dead in his apartment Thursday afternoon, according to Winooski police and court papers. Police say the man, Arnold Sweeney, and the woman, Stacy McGraw of Colchester, used cocaine together overnight Wednesday and early Thursday while McGraw's 3-month-old son was in the apartment. Sweeney discovered McGraw was dead when he tried to wake her Thursday afternoon, according to court papers written by Winooski Police Sgt. Rich Benoit. The papers say Sweeney attended to the baby, Shea Raymond Barber, only by giving the infant a pacifier from the time Sweeney awoke at 7 a.m. until emergency workers came to the apartment after 3 p.m.

August 17, 2002:
Stacey McGraw, 25, was found dead in a senior housing project on East Spring St. in Winooski Thursday. The young mother was in the apartment of Arnold Sweeney, 67. Police have arrested Sweeney, and say the elderly man was dealing drugs from the housing project. Neighbors say they never suspected the older man was doing anything wrong. Authorities believe McGraw may have died of a cocaine overdose-- based on what they found in the apartment, and what Sweeney told them. Sweeney is in jail pending arraignment Monday on the cocaine dealing charges. But police say it will take at least two weeks to get the test results to determine whether they can charge Sweeney with drug-related manslaughter. Brian Joyce - Channel 3 News

August 22, 2002:
Lee Anne Billings, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington to one count of allowing Champion's Tavern to be used for drug dealing between late 2000 and the spring of 2001. She was originally charged with eight counts stemming from alleged cocaine and heroin dealing at Champion's Tavern in Winooski and at the Steer & Stein Pub in Burlington, which Billings also owned. Billings agreed in the plea deal to cooperate with investigators in other cases and testify at other trials if necessary. Billings is the last of nine co-defendants to either plead guilty or agree to plead guilty, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gelber. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled. Billings was released on conditions until the sentencing.

August 30, 2002:
A Burlington woman was freed on $20,000 bail following her arraignment Thursday on charges connected to a drug-related death in Winooski two weeks ago. Janet Slossberg, 32, faces charges of delivery and possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and cruelty to a child under age 10. She pleaded innocent in Vermont District Court in Burlington. She is accused of attempting to sell cocaine to Arnold Sweeney, 67, of Winooski. He faces charges that he provided cocaine to Stacy McGraw, 25, who was found dead Aug. 15 in Sweeney's apartment at a senior-housing complex. Sweeney indicated Slossberg was his source for cocaine, according to court papers. Slossberg was arrested after police had Sweeney ask her to deliver cocaine to his apartment, court papers show. As she was arrested, according to court papers, Slossberg told police she had left her 3-year-old son alone at her apartment. Police searched her apartment and found cocaine, some of which was stored in the 3-year-old's bedroom closet.