Both defendants now face murder charge in fatal shooting

November 11, 2024  |  By Eric Blaisdell | Time Argus Staff Writer 

BARRE — Both defendants allegedly involved in the fatal shooting in Waterbury last month now face murder charges.

Fabrice Rumama, 20, and Samuel Niyonsenga, 18, both of Springfield, Massachusetts, have been charged in Washington County criminal court in Barre with felony counts of second-degree murder and aiding in the commission of second-degree murder. Rumama was initially charged with second-degree murder and Niyonsenga was initially charged with aiding, but Washington County State’s Attorney Michelle Donnelly added the additional charges on Monday, Nov. 4, with the approach that the state could prove either defendant was the shooter or both defendants fired shots, if their cases go to trial.

Both defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison, if convicted. Rumama has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and Niyonsenga has pleaded not guilty to the aiding charge. It appears they both still need to be arraigned on the new charges.

A joint weight-of-the-evidence hearing was held in their cases on Wednesday, Nov. 6, where attorney Amy Davis, representing Niyonsenga, challenged probable cause on the murder charge her client now faces, stating there is no evidence in this case showing Niyonsenga was the shooter.

Wednesday’s hearing was set to determine whether the state’s evidence was strong enough to continue to hold both defendants without bail. Rumama was housed at Northern state Correctional Facility in Newport, while Niyonsenga was housed at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland as of Monday morning, Nov. 11.

Judge Michael Harris said he would make a determination in writing on probable cause for the new charges after hearing the evidence the state had to present. Judge Harris said he also would issue a determination on whether the state had met its burden to establish the evidence of guilt is great in this matter. If he finds the state has met its burden, defense attorneys for both defendants reported they are working on a release plan they want to present to the judge to ask him to exercise his discretion and release the defendants on conditions.

According to court records, Shawn Spiker, 34, of Croydon, New Hampshire, was shot and killed and Michael S. Perry, 57, of Waterbury, was shot shortly after midnight Oct. 14 at Kneeland Flats Trailer Park in Waterbury. Police said the investigation showed the shooting was over a $140 drug debt.

No one has been charged yet for shooting Perry.

Police said a resident at the home reported she had been selling fentanyl she received from two people she knew as “Savage” and “Smitty.” Savage was later identified as Rumama and Smitty was identified as Niyonsenga, according to court records.

Police said this witness reported the pair had come to her home the day before the shooting and threatened her and pointed guns at her, demanding the money she had made from selling drugs.

Police said another witness reported he drove the two defendants to the trailer park the night the shooting took place. This witness reported he heard gunshots and was about to drive away when the pair returned and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t give them a ride away from the scene, according to court records.

Police said Rumama and Niyonsenga were later arrested during the execution of a search warrant at a home on Route 302 in Orange. Court records show a separate drug investigation had been ongoing involving that home. Police said a controlled drug buy took place there the day before the shooting occurred.

Niyonsenga has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of fentanyl trafficking he faces in that matter. Police said they found suspected fentanyl, loaded guns and $3,000 in cash in the home. Police said Niyonsenga dropped a bag while fleeing police that contained $1,000 in cash.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Donnelly played a portion of body camera footage from a Vermont State Police trooper who first arrived at the scene. The footage showed Spiker dead on the floor while Perry was crying out and cursing from the pain he was in after being shot. Two women at the scene were visibly upset and asked the trooper if Spiker was still alive. One of them mentioned Savage’s name when asked by the trooper who the shooter was. They both appeared fearful that the shooter would return to the home.

The prosecutor also played footage from a neighbor’s Ring camera. The footage was dark, given the time of day the shooting took place, and was difficult to make out, but it appeared to show two people approaching the home where the shooting occurred and then showed them quickly leaving and getting into a vehicle which is heard squealing its tires as it speeds away from the scene.

The prosecutor had investigators with the State Police testify, who reported finding bullet casings for 9mm bullets and .22-caliber bullets in the home in Waterbury after the shooting. Police said bullets found in a bag at the home in Orange matched the casings found in Waterbury.

A witness reported that Niyonsenga and Rumama had given the guns used in the shooting to a local resident to dispose of in Barre, according to court records. Donnelly noted police, during a separate matter in Barre Town, later seized a .22-caliber handgun in the possession of a man connected to the drug deals taking place in Orange. An investigator testified that the bullets found with the gun were from the same manufacturer as the casings found in Waterbury. Another investigator reported a witness, one of the women at the Waterbury home, said she had heard about 15 gunshots, though she did not see the shooter.

Donnelly said not only is the evidence of guilt great in this case, it’s overwhelming.

Davis said its a stretch to say that her client was in possession of the .22-caliber gun, given the evidence presented. Other than the type of ammunition the gun uses, she said there’s no direct connection to her client. She said ammunition is mass-produced and this was not a rare kind of bullet.

The defense attorney said while the evidence shows Niyonsenga may have been at the Waterbury home the day before the shooting and a witness reported he brought Niyonsenga to the trailer park the night of the shooting, there was no evidence placing Niyonsenga in the home when the shooting occurred.

Davis noted a witness reported “Savage” was the shooter, not Niyonsenga. She said the surviving victim did not give information to investigators identifying Niyonsenga as the shooter.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever that he shot at anyone, let alone (that he) murdered Shawn Spiker,” she said.

Attorney Sarah Vangel, representing Rumama, also told the judge the evidence of guilt is not great in this case. Vangel said there is minimal evidence showing Rumama was present at the home in Waterbury.

The defense attorney noted the witness who told police “Savage” was the shooter also told police she did not know what he looked like and had never met him before. Vangel said while the witness heard gunshots, she told police she did not see or hear anyone at the home when the shooting took place.

Davis has filed a motion seeking youthful offender status for Niyonsenga, given his age. If his case receives that status, it will move to family court, where the outcome likely will be confidential.

This story was originally published Nov. 7 by the Times Argus.