Prosecutors present gun, cellphone evidence they say links Burlington man to shooting of three Palestinian students

BURLINGTON — The state rested its case against the Burlington man accused of shooting and wounding three Palestinian students, presenting law enforcement and forensic witnesses whose testimony prosecutors say tied him to the crimes. The move by the state comes on the second day of the trial in Chittenden Superior criminal court and appears to set the stage for the defense’s case that Jason Eaton was legally insane at the time of the shootings in November 2023 and not criminally responsible. Among the key prosecution witnesses Tuesday was Harry Jeppe, a firearms examiner with the Vermont Forensic Laboratory. He testified about his analysis of the firearm and cartridge casings and bullets recovered at the shooting scene and during the police investigation. “I determined that this cartridge casing was fired from the submitted firearm,” Jeppe said at one point during his testimony, repeating a similar phrase several more times on the witness stand. Two of the men were treated at the hospital.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open VTDigger ↗