VSP BCI Troop A East – Derby / Death investigation involving inmate

STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

CASE#: 25A5001734

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME:  Detective Sgt. David Robillard

STATION: Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Troop A East – Derby

CONTACT#: 802-334-8881

DATE/TIME: 10 a.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025

INCIDENT LOCATION: Northern State Correctional Facility, Newport, VT

INCIDENT TYPE: Death investigation

VICTIM: James Ingerson

AGE: 54

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Hartford, VT

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man who was in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections. VSP was notified at about 10 a.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025, that James Ingerson, a 54-year-old inmate at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, had been found deceased in his cell. Per standard protocol, a detective from the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations was assigned to the case and began a death investigation.

Initial information gathered by VSP indicates Mr. Ingerson had reported not feeling well and had been receiving care for a medical issue prior to his cellmate's discovering him unresponsive Saturday morning. The cellmate notified a corrections officer. DOC staff members began life-saving measures and called for emergency medical services to respond to the facility. Mr. Ingerson was pronounced deceased at Northern State at 9:54 a.m. by Newport Emergency Medical Service.

The death does not appear to be suspicious. An autopsy will be performed at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death.

According to Department of Corrections records, Mr. Ingerson was serving a sentence of one day to 10 years for convictions of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of cocaine. He was charged in Windsor County in 2022 and sentenced earlier this year, with a minimum release date of Jan. 3, 2025, and a maximum of Nov. 17, 2032. Records from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Burlington indicate Mr. Ingerson also was facing a 2023 federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and had been ordered detained during the pendency of those proceedings.

No additional information is available at this time. The investigation is ongoing, and the Vermont State Police will provide updates when possible. Further questions should be directed to the Department of Corrections.

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