Police arrest second man in Poultney slaying

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Johnathan Testa, 21, has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Daniel Hein, who was found dead early Sunday morning from a gunshot wound in a vehicle in the driveway of a Poultney home where Testa had been living.

Following discovery of the shooting, State Police had been searching for three other Poultney men. William Bailey, 19, was among the occupants of the vehicle Testa was found in. Police say he “was responsible for shooting” Hein with a semiautomatic handgun.  Bailey was arrested Sunday night, charged with manslaughter and held without bail. The other two men in the vehicle left the scene before police arrived. One of the men, Dylan Czarnecki, 21, of Poultney, was located and interviewed. Czarnecki was taken into custody and held on probation violations.

According to police, Testa was arrested Tuesday without incident by Rutland City detectives.

State Police detectives had learned that Testa had been staying at another man’s Poultney residence where the shooting occurred.  During the investigation, that man discovered that a debit card and cell phone had been stolen on the night of the shooting.  As police tried to find Testa to interview him about  witnessing the shooting, detectives learned that the card was being used around Rutland.  Surveillance videos where the card was used showed a male subject who appeared to be Testa.

Detectives have also determined that Testa and another man were involved in the assault and robbery of a 23-year-old Fair Haven man that occurred on Nov. 28.  And they have concluded that earlier in the evening prior to the shooting, Testa and Hein had burglarized a farm stand in Poultney.

Testa also had been in possession of a .40 caliber pistol that had been stolen from the Fair Haven man on Nov. 28.  On the night of the shooting, Testa brought the pistol into the vehicle  occupied by Bailey, Hein, Czarnecki and Testa.  The charging affidavit released today following the arraignment of William Bailey details the account of the shooting that occurred inside the vehicle.

Testa was charged with the assault and robbery and aggravated assault in relation to the Nov. 28 incident; burglary concerning the Poultney farmstand robbery; possession of stolen property in relation to the gun stolen on Nov. 28; petty larceny in the theft of a debit card and cell phone on the night of Hein’s death; false personation for using the stolen debit card and involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hein’s death.

He was lodged in Marble Valley Correctional Facility without bail and was to be arraigned today in Rutland Superior Court.