Vamond Elmore, 35, pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree assault, interfering with an officer and criminal impersonation. Charges of reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct were nolled*.
*nolle prosequi - Latin for "we shall no longer prosecute," which is a declaration made to the judge by a prosecutor in a criminal case (or by a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit) either before or during trial, meaning the case against the defendant is being dropped.
State's Attorney Suzanne Vieux said the charges were nolled after numerous attempts to reach out to the alleged victim in the case -- Nicole Hoyt, who just happens to be the Pit Bull's owner -- were unsuccessful, and Hoyt skipped numerous court dates for six pending criminal cases.
Three months after the stabbing, Hoyt's Pit Bull then mauled sixty-year-old Archie Hilliard, and Hoyt was given a citation for possession of a vicious dog and permitting a dog to roam at large.
Elmore encountered Norwalk Police on Jan. 7 -- just four months after being released from federal prison -- when he reached into a car and choked the driver of a vehicle on West Washington Street. The driver threw her car into reverse and dragged Elmore, severely injuring him. Elmore at first disputed the charges but on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to a third-degree assault charge stemming from the incident.
In May, Elmore was again arrested for allegedly stabbing a dog during a domestic dispute at a Hanford Place residence.
Elmore claimed that the dog attacked him, and he stabbed the dog in self defense. He had a cut on his hand and a tear on his sweater from the alleged attack. The Pit Bull's owner, Nicole Hoyt, also was bitten by her dog.
The dog later attacked Hilliard, 60, and chewed Hilliard's ankle to the bone.
Elmore was again arrested in September after yelling at police officers who were investigating a shots fired call on South Main Street.
His final arrest came in October when he gave a false name to an officer, who noticed that Elmore was wearing an ankle bracelet.
The officer then called Elmore's parole officer, who gave the officer Elmore's real name.
On Oct. 1, federal authorities issued a warrant for Elmore's arrest for violation of the terms of release. Elmore finished a seven-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in September 2011 and began a three-year period of supervised release.
His arrests were in violation of the agreement of supervised release, and he faces more than two years in federal prison for the violation.
Vieux said she could not promise that the state sentence would run concurrent with the federal sentence.
Elmore is currently being held on a remand to custody order at an undisclosed federal facility.
(Stamford Advocate - November 9, 2012)
Earlier:
Update to story:
ST. GEORGE, S.C. (AP/WTNH) — A man wanted on a murder charge in Norwalk. Conn., has been shot and killed by police outside a motel in St. George.
The U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release that 37-year-old Vamond Elmore was holding a gun as he tried to run away Tuesday morning from a hotel room near Interstate 95. Authorities say officers shouted for him to drop the gun, but he turned it toward them instead and was killed. Elmore was accused of killing Jimmy Martinez on May 15, 2014.
U.S. marshals, Dorchester County deputies and State Law Enforcement Division agents were working together to arrest Elmore. Charleston County deputies are investigating the shooting, and said two SLED agents fired on Elmore. Investigators say Elmore had family around St. George.
According to information released later, “acting on information developed during a six-week investigation members of Operation Intercept, a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, along with members of SLED and the Dorchester Co. Sheriff’s Office, approached the Southern Inn II hotel located in St. George, S.C., at approximately 11:15 a.m. looking for Connecticut fugitive Vamond Arqui Elmore, 37, wanted in connection with a murder occurring in Norwalk, CT in May of this year.”
“Elmore was observed by members of the task force exiting a hotel room and rapidly departing on foot with a pistol in his hand. Elmore did not obey commands of law enforcement to drop the gun and after turning toward task force officers Elmore sustained gunshot wounds and was transported to MUSC hospital,” authorities said. Elmore was wanted by both the U.S. Marshals and the Norwalk Police Department as a suspect in a homicide in Norwalk on May 15.
In addition to the murder charge, warrants were also issued for Elmore for criminal possession of a pistol, criminal use of a firearm, theft of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and violation of his federal supervised release.
In addition to the murder charge, warrants were also issued for Elmore for criminal possession of a pistol, criminal use of a firearm, theft of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and violation of his federal supervised release.
Officials said that in June 2005 Elmore was convicted in Washington, D.C. federal court for unlawful possession of a weapon and ammunition by a convicted felon and was sentenced to 92 months in prison.
