(NewsInsights.org) – Daniel Banyai owns and operates Slate Ridge, a firearms training center located in Pawlet, Vermont. He also has outstanding warrants for his arrest that he had successfully evaded since early July 2023. On Wednesday, March 20, Banyai was traveling as a passenger in a vehicle that Pawlet town constable Tom Covino pulled over for speeding. Covino arrested Banyai, but not without a struggle.
For years, Banyai has battled with neighbors and town officials after building an unpermitted business on his property, which state and city officials classify as a paramilitary training facility. In March 2021, a Vermont Environmental Court ordered him to remove all unpermitted structures from his property. Two years later, it found him in contempt of court and gave him a final date of June 2023 to comply or face fines exceeding $100,000 and arrest.
In July 2023, Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin ordered Banyai’s arrest on a 60-day warrant, citing his failure to comply with court orders as contempt of court. The Slate Ridge owner appealed his arrest warrant to the Vermont Supreme Court but lost when they upheld the contempt ruling.
The Rutland County Sheriff and Vermont State Police tried to serve the arrest warrant several times but received information that Banyai had left the state. After the warrant expired, the city sought to extend the warrant, but Durkin ruled that the Vermont Supreme Court had jurisdiction over that decision. In November, the state’s high court ruled that the Environmental Court could renew charges against Banyai, which Durkin did in December.
Security cameras recorded footage of Covino and Banyai trading punches when the constable was arresting the Slate Ridge owner. Covino used pepper spray to subdue Banyai. As a result of the scuffle, the shooting range owner faces aggravated assault on a police officer charges, to which he’s pleaded not guilty. Considered a flight risk, the court ordered the jail to hold Banyai on a $15,000 bond. The judge ordered him not to leave the state without permission and to adhere to a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew if he makes bail.
Copyright 2024, NewsInsights.org
