29-year-old Man Facing Death Penalty After Murdering 2 Massachusetts 21-year-olds

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced in a release that Theodore Bland, 29, of Stowe, Vermont, pleaded guilty to federal firearm and drug charges, including causing the deaths of two Massachusetts men while carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking. The guilty pleas were entered before United States District Judge William K. Sessions III, and sentencing was set for September 14, 2026, at 10 a.m.

According to court records, Bland plotted with others to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl to drug consumers in and around Lamoille County, Vermont, between September 7 and October 15, 2023. Bland shot and killed 21-year-old Jahim Solomon and 21-year-old Eric White in a home in Lowell, Vermont, on October 12, 2023, in order to obtain the bulk cocaine base and fentanyl that the men possessed. Following the murders, Bland gave some of the stolen pills to co-conspirators to distribute to drug users. Bland also delivered portions of the stolen drugs to several people in order to get their cooperation and help in hiding the murders. Bland carried the men’s remains to a wooded location in Eden, Vermont, and attempted to hide them. Following the murders, Bland got control of two firearms previously owned by the men and traded one of them to a narcotics dealer in exchange for larger quantities of cocaine base and fentanyl that Bland planned to distribute.

The US had earlier filed a notice signaling its intent to seek the death sentence. Bland faces up to a life sentence and a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison following his guilty plea. The District Court will, however, determine the actual sentence based on the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing criteria. If the District Court approves the parties’ agreed plea deal, defendant Bland will get a life sentence.

Jonathan A. Ophardt, First Assistant United States Attorney, praised the Vermont State Police, the FBI, the Morristown Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department for their investigations.

The prosecutors are Assistant United States Attorneys Jason Turner and Dana Hill. Bland is represented by Bruce D. Koffsky, Esq., David Sleigh, Esq., and Francis L. O’Reilly, Esq.