NORTHAMPTON — A Vermont man was sentenced to three years in state prison Thursday for an incident last winter in which he injured a Massachusetts state trooper, rupturing his Achilles tendon.
Darryl Kittredge, 28, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, pleaded guilty Thursday in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and possession of cocaine.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Matthew Mielke pulled over a gray Nissan Maxima shortly before 8 p.m. on March 1, 2017, on Interstate 91 near the Northampton-Hatfield line, after observing a defective right license plate light on the car.
The driver of the vehicle, later determined to be Kittredge, was seen ducking down repeatedly before eventually pulling over on the side on I-91, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jayme Parent detailed in court.
After Kittredge pulled over, Mielke ordered him out of the car and had him stand at the back of the car, facing it, so the trooper could physically search him. As Mielke began the search, Kittredge repeatedly “tensed up,” Parent explained. As Mielke tried to handcuff Kittredge, he spun toward the trooper and struck his right forearm, causing a scrape to the arm and then stepped on Mielke’s right foot, Parent said.
Kittredge then ran across all lanes of the interstate and Mielke was unable to follow, as he could not walk because he believed his Achilles tendon had ruptured, Parent said. Other troopers arrived on scene and, with the help of a tracking dog, Kittredge was found less than a mile away in a barn on West Street. Police found a pill bottle in his pocket with cocaine, Parent said.
Mielke was taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he was treated, discharged and referred to an orthopedic surgeon. He was off his feet for 45 days, followed by a month spent in a boot cast. He was off the job for six months, Parent said.
Mielke was present in the courtroom Thursday morning and told Judge Richard Carey he found the sentence fair.
Defense attorney Lisa Lippiello told the court that everything in Kittredge’s record stemmed from his drug use and that, since his arrest, he had been admitted to a treatment program, although he was unable to attend. While in jail awaiting trial, Kittredge earned his high school equivalency diploma, Lippiello said.
Carey sentenced Kittredge to three years in state prison on the assault charge and one year in jail on the cocaine charge, which is to be served at the same as the state prison sentence. Kittredge will receive credit for 337 days already served.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.