Charges have been filed in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a traffic stop turned firefight in Vermont earlier this week.
Teresa Youngblunt faces two federal weapons charges related to Monday’s killing of Agent David “Chris” Maland. The FBI said she was arrested Friday.
In an affidavit made public Friday, FBI Special Agent Leah Bogdanowicz identified the “German national” who died at the scene as Felix Baukholt.
Baukholt was the registered owner of a blue Prius with North Carolina plates. Multiple uniformed Border Patrol agents stopped the car around 3 p.m. Monday to conduct an immigration inspection.
According to court documents, Baukholt was in the passenger seat and Youngblut was the driver.
The affidavit states two Border Patrol agents at the scene later told a supervisor that both Baukholt and Youngblut were armed. As of Wednesday, FBI investigators had not interviewed the agents who were present, “due to interagency constraints following an agent-involved use of deadly force.”
Youngblut fired her gun at at least one agent from outside the vehicle, according to two agents. Then, Baukholt attempted to draw a gun, the agents said. At least one agent returned fire, according to court documents.
During the exchange, the FBI says Maland, Baukholt and Youngblut were all shot. Baukholt was pronounced dead at the scene. Maland was taken to North Country Hospital and pronounced dead around 4 p.m. Youngblut was receiving medical care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center at the time of the affidavit.
The affidavit does not identify whose bullets struck Maland.
State and federal explosives teams used remote technology to search the car for explosive materials, but did not find any.
Two guns — a .40-caliber Glock 23 and .380-caliber M&P Shield — were recovered from the scene that appeared to belong to Youngblut and Baukholt, the documents say.
Two packets of cellphones wrapped in aluminum foil, an iPhone, at least two more cellphones and multiple laptops were also recovered from the Prius, according to the affidavit.
A search of the vehicle later turned up tactical gear — including night vision goggles, a ballistic helmet and a tactical belt with a holster. Ammunition, shooting range targets and two handheld two-way radios were also recovered. The affidavit says the FBI also found about a dozen total electronic devices with backup storage, identifying documents, travel documents indicating the couple had stayed in lodging in multiple states and what appears to be a journal.
On investigators’ radar
The court documents also say Baukholt and Youngblut had caught the attention of locals and law enforcement in the days preceding the shooting in the Northeast Kingdom.
On Jan. 14, a hotel employee in Lyndonville reached out to police after observing the couple wearing “all-black tactical style clothing with protective equipment” and openly carrying a gun. Investigators with Vermont State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had a short conversation with Baukholt and Youngblut that day, the affidavit says. The pair told law enforcement they were looking to buy property in the area and then checked out of the hotel later that day.
Baukholt and Youngblut were later seen walking in downtown Newport on Sunday, Jan. 19, documents say.
On the morning of the day of the fatal shooting, Baukholt went to the Wal-Mart in Newport and purchased two packages of aluminum foil. The affidavit says he was then seen using the foil to wrap objects and making at least one phone call.
Stephanie Baer, a public defender representing Youngblut, declined to comment on the case.
Years of service
On Thursday morning, hundreds of law enforcement personnel from multiple state, local and federal agencies accompanied Maland’s body from the medical examiner’s office in Burlington to a local funeral home. The procession was met by a Border Patrol honor guard and a helicopter was present.
VTDigger reports Border Patrol agents will stand watch over the body until it can be transported to Minnesota, where Maland grew up.
The Associated Press earlier this week reported Maland’s family said he spent nine years in the military and 15 working for the federal government, including at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. As a Border Patrol agent, Maland was previously stationed in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. At the time of his killing, he was assigned to the Swanton Sector, which encompasses Vermont, parts of New York and New Hampshire, and includes 295 miles of international boundary with Canada.
"Chris was an incredible man and will be missed dearly. I am grateful for his service and I know he was very proud of it," said Minnesota state Rep. Krista Knudsen, who is Maland’s cousin. "Our family is heartbroken. He died in the line of duty, serving to protect our country. We will cherish his memories and mourn his sacrifice. Until we meet again, Godspeed, you good and faithful servant."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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