By james art 
A Vermont police sergeant was charged Friday with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment in connection with a shooting last year that injured two men during a vehicle investigation.
Rutland Township Police Sergeant Andrew Plemons fired into a vehicle as the occupants attempted to flee. A state police investigation found that Plemons was not in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death when he used deadly force against one of the men.
Plemons pleaded not guilty and was released.
On the night of July 3, 2023, Plemons was called for backup while a K-9 officer investigated a suspicious vehicle parked near the Giorgetti Sports Complex that was occupied by Randy Perez-Koescu and his twin brother, Andy Perez-Koescu, 21 d. , both of Springfield, Massachusetts.
When Plemons arrived, Raja used a sniffer dog to sniff the exterior of the vehicle, according to a review of the body camera footage. After the dog showed up to indicate it had detected something in the vehicle, Raja told the driver, Randy Perez-Koescu, that the vehicle would be impounded unless they consented to being searched, the affidavit said .
When the driver seemed to hesitate, Rajda opened the driver’s door. The vehicle then drove off and Raja reached into it as Sergeant Plemons stepped in front of the car, hand on the hood, yelling “Stop,” according to the affidavit. Plemons pointed his gun at the driver, saying, “I’m going to shoot you, stop.” As the car rolled forward, Plemons pulled out of the way and fired at least three shots into the driver’s compartment, causing the driver to fall to the ground, the affidavit said.
The vehicle continued to roll with the driver’s door open as Plemons walked alongside. The passenger, Andy Perez-Koescu, got into the driver’s seat, stopped the vehicle and then turned the wheel and sped off, with the door closed, until Plemons yelled at him to stop. Plemmons fired at least two shots at him through the open driver’s side window as Perez-Koescu backed out of the park and then crashed, the affidavit said.
Randy Perez-Koescu pleaded not guilty to two counts of felony aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and Andy Perez-Koescu was cited for possession of fentanyl. The brothers have since recovered from their injuries, police said.
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