Off-Campus Robbery Cases Solved

Author: Elizabeth Logue Managing Editor

The robbery investigation of two separate houses in the town of Middlebury culminated in two arrests. Brayton Gillett, 20, and Justin Gillet, 17, both of Middlebury, were charged with possession of stolen property after the Middlebury Police Department obtained a search warrant to search their shared residence.

The charges stem from the robberies of two separate houses rented by Middlebury College students. The residents of the first house, located on Court Street, first reported traces of forced entry through a window and stolen property on Nov. 25 to the Middlebury Police Department.

Middlebury students residing in a Halladay Road house commonly referred to as "The Farm" reported evidence of forced entry through a door and stolen property to the police Nov. 28. It is suspected that both robberies occurred sometime over the Thanksgiving break.

Residents of both houses reported the loss of "considerable amounts of personal belongings and property," stated Middlebury Police Department Sergeant Mike Christopher. He said, however, that since the apprehension of the alleged perpetrators a "substantial amount of property … had been recovered."

Christopher stated that these houses were probably targets because of the fact that they were "known vacant residences."