BURLINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that on Monday, 31-year-old Theodore Bland of Stowe, Vermont, was sentenced by United States District Judge William Sessions III to two consecutive sentences of life imprisonment after his guilty plea to causing the deaths of two Massachusetts men while carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking, and concurrent sentences of imprisonment for various federal drug and firearm charges. Judge Sessions also required Bland to pay restitution of $12,504.92 to the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services.
According to court records and the DOJ, on the morning of October 12, 2023, Bland walked into the back bedroom of a mobile home in Lowell, Vermont and murdered 21-year-old Jahim Solomon and 21-year-old Eric White by shooting them. Bland murdered the men so that he could obtain cocaine base and fentanyl that he knew that they had in their possession to further his own drug distribution conspiracy. Bland shot the men in broad daylight, in the presence of numerous witnesses, and in the hours and days that followed, bragged to others about the way he had killed the men. Bland also used the drugs and weapons that he had obtained from the killings to persuade a number of people to assist him in moving the men’s bodies to a wooded area in Eden, Vermont, and attempting to conceal the murders. Bland also traded one of the firearms he stole from one of the victims to a drug supplier in exchange for quantities of cocaine base and fentanyl that Bland intended to distribute. At the time of the murders, Bland was on state conditions of release for a March 17, 2023, armed assault in South Burlington, Vermont.
First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Vermont State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Morristown Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Ophardt added: “Theodore Bland committed two depraved, violent murders to secure greater illicit profits in the drug trade. This case is a chilling reminder of the extreme danger posed by the combination of drug trafficking and firearms. I am grateful to the family and friends of the victims who spoke at today’s sentencing hearing. Their words were powerful reminders of the true toll of Bland’s crimes. As they made clear, two consecutive life sentences will never erase the harm and pain caused by Bland’s violence.”
“Mr. Bland was responsible for trafficking deadly narcotics on the streets in Vermont,” said Craig Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albany Field Office. “His decision to escalate to cold-blooded murder has landed him in federal prison for the rest of his life. This case and subsequent sentence illustrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to working with our Department of Justice colleagues and our partners at every level of law enforcement to leverage our resources and ensure that criminals who terrorize our communities through vicious acts of violence and the sale of dangerous drugs and weapons are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This crime shocked Vermont in its callousness and left the families of two young men with a grief that will never end,” said Major Ashley Barnes, commander of the Vermont State Police Criminal Division. “We extend our sincere thanks to our law-enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level who joined together to locate the victims, identify the perpetrator, and ensure he faced justice.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Turner and Dana E. Hill. Bland was represented by David C. Sleigh, Esq., Bren E. Newton, Esq., Bruce D. Koffsky, Esq., and Francis L. O’Reilly, Esq.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
