Man who brandished shotgun in South Burlington pleads guilty

A Burlington man, who authorities say is a person of interest in the fatal shooting of two out-of-state men found dead in Lamoille County last October, has pleaded guilty in federal court to an unrelated gun charge in a South Burlington case.

Theodore “Theo” Bland, 28, formerly of Stowe, admitted in U.S. District Court Friday that he brandished a shotgun outside a Shelburne Road convenience store in South Burlington in March 2023 while using a controlled substance.

Bland also agreed in his federal plea deal to forfeit the 12-gauge Mossburg shotgun, loaded with five shotgun shells, seized later that day by police in Lamoille County.

Under the plea, Bland is expected to receive a 14-month federal prison sentence. He will get credit for about five months of time served.

Under questioning from Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, Bland said he knew his plea deal will have no impact on possible criminal charges in the double homicide last fall.

“Yes, I do your honor,” Bland said as he stood next to his defense lawyer David Sleigh of St. Johnsbury.

Eden killings

A pair of 21-year-old men: Jahim Solomon of Pittsfield, Mass., and Eric White of Chicopee, Mass., were found fatally shot in October in the rural town of Eden.

Members of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Squad are leading the ongoing and wide-ranging investigation.

The two men were reported missing by their families to Vermont police on Oct. 15 and phone records showed they had been to Burlington, Lowell, Morristown and Stowe after arriving in the state.

Autopsies showed Solomon died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, while White died from a single shot to the head.

Police say one body was found under a tarp about 20 yards off the Albany-Eden Road, and the second body was found later about a mile north. Police reportedly found other evidence associated in the case in Eden and nearby Lowell.

Investigators have also conducted a court-ordered search at an Orleans County home in Albany, but officials say a judge sealed the state’s warrant.

Authorities reported that after the bodies were found on Oct. 24, investigators identified several possible suspects but have not provided any specifics.

Bland is due in state court in Burlington on April 9 for related pending charges for aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in October filed a criminal complaint in federal court against Bland concerning the earlier incident in South Burlington from March and obtained an arrest warrant.

Bland had been released from state court on conditions that included a 24-hour curfew at his then Burlington apartment on Myrtle Street and to refrain from buying, using or having regulated drugs without a prescription, court records show.

The ATF and South Burlington Police were unable to locate him. Bland was arrested Oct. 30 on four criminal charges, including possession of drugs and paraphernalia near Knoxville, Tenn., officials said.

The gun case stems from a March 2023 incident at the Simon’s Convenience Store on Shelburne Road where it appeared that Bland ordered two women out of a car at gunpoint. In reality, one of the women had gone into the store to call Bland to ask him to rescue them from their driver, Walter Biggs, 58, of Colchester, who reportedly was soliciting them for sex in exchange for crack cocaine, federal and state court records indicate.

Vermont State Police stopped Bland and the two women later that night on Vermont 100 near Gold Brook Road in Stowe. When police looked inside the car, they found the loaded shotgun in the backseat.