by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine The Washington State woman, who authorities say was involved in a shootout that left two people dead, including a veteran U.S. Border Patrol Agent in Orleans County last week, will remain in custody pending further proceedings in federal court in Vermont.
The defense for Teresa Youngblut, 21, did not contest the detention arguments made by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Lasher on Thursday.
Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle ruled Thursday in Burlington there were sufficient reasons to hold Youngblut without bail pending further hearings. He reviewed the arguments and written motion by Lasher and an FBI affidavit explaining the case.
Doyle set a probable cause hearing for Friday Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Burlington.
Youngblut will lose her right to the probable cause hearing if a federal grand jury files an indictment against her in the interim. The hearing could be changed to an arraignment if an indictment is obtained. A plea would be requested at an arraignment.
A federal grand jury normally meets in secret once a week in Burlington to consider possible indictments.
Youngblut, making her second appearance in federal court this week, still had her right arm in a blue sling. She was brought into court with chains around her waist. She was wearing a red prison uniform and a light blue COVID mask.
Security remained tight with at least seven members of the U.S. Marshals Service and their court security team spread across the first-floor courtroom. More than a dozen federal agents from the Border Patrol, Homeland Security and the FBI also were in the audience.
Youngblut was wounded and her companion Felix Bauckholt, a German national, was shot dead during the shootout with the U.S. Border Patrol on Interstate 91 in Coventry about 3:15 p.m. Jan. 20. She was treated for five days for her gunshot wounds.
Border Patrol Agent David "Chris" Maland, 44, of Newport, who made the initial traffic stop, was wounded in the neck and was taken to North Country Hospital in Newport where he was pronounced dead about 4 p.m.
Youngblut is charged in a criminal complaint with two federal gun charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. She has not been charged with killing Maland, although court records indicate Youngblut was the only one that apparently fired at the Border Patrol and she was found with the gun in her possession.
Her parents, Eric and Carla Youngblut, sat in silence in the second row during the 15-minute hearing. They arrived about a half hour before the 10 a.m. hearing and did not speak to reporters.
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