Teresa Youngblut Detained, New Details Emerge
Washington State Woman Held Without Bail in Connection with U.S. Border Patrol Agent’s Death
Teresa Youngblut, 21, was ordered held without bail on Thursday in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a case that has grown to encompass killings in multiple states.
Accused of Opening Fire on Agents
Youngblut is accused of opening fire on agents during a traffic stop in northern Vermont on January 20, sparking a shootout that also left her companion, Felix Bauckholt, dead. The gun used in the Vermont shooting was purchased by a person of interest in the December 31, 2022, killings of Richard and Rita Zajko, who were shot to death in their Chester Heights home.
Connections to Multiple Killings
Pennsylvania state police said that the gun used in the Vermont shooting was purchased by a person of interest in the Zajko killings. Youngblut and the buyer were in frequent contact with someone who was detained as part of the Pennsylvania investigation and is a person of interest in another killing in California, U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said in a court filing.
New Details Emerge
Prosecutors didn’t elaborate during a brief hearing on Thursday, according to NBC affiliate WPTZ. Youngblut’s attorney has not responded to requests for comment on the charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 7.
Connections to Key Players
Jack LaSota is currently facing charges of obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania. Authorities won’t say whether those charges are related to the Zajko deaths, but court records show that police were searching for a gun used in two killings when they arrested LaSota 12 days later at a hotel about 10 miles from the scene of the killings.
LaSota also has connections to some of the key players in the California case. In 2019, LaSota and three others were arrested while protesting an event hosted by the Center for Applied Rationality at a camping retreat in Occidental, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2022, two of the others, Emma Borhanian and Jeffrey Leatham, were accused of attacking their landlord with a sword in Vallejo. The landlord, Curtis Lind, survived the November 2022 attack but was stabbed to death on January 17.
Maximilian Snyder’s Connection
Maximilian Snyder was charged this week with Lind’s killing. In November, someone with the same name applied for a marriage license with a Teresa Youngblut in Kirkland, Washington. Snyder’s attorney declined to comment on the charges.
LaSota’s Connections
LaSota may have been present during the 2022 landlord attack, according to court documents that also suggest LaSota had been falsely reported dead three months earlier. On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report that LaSota had fallen out of a boat in San Francisco Bay and conducted a search but didn’t find a body, according to documents included in a civil rights lawsuit LaSota and others had filed after their 2019 arrest. An obituary was published, and LaSota’s mother confirmed the death to LaSota’s criminal defense attorney. But months later, a prosecutor emailed the attorney and said LaSota was contacted by police in Vallejo and was “alive and well” at the site of a crime on or about November 13, the date Lind was attacked.
Conclusion
The case has grown to encompass killings in multiple states, and authorities are working to uncover the connections between the various incidents. Youngblut is being held without bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 7.
FAQs
Q: Who is Teresa Youngblut?
A: Teresa Youngblut is a 21-year-old woman from Washington state who is accused of opening fire on U.S. Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop in northern Vermont.
Q: What is the connection between the Vermont shooting and the Zajko killings?
A: The gun used in the Vermont shooting was purchased by a person of interest in the Zajko killings.
Q: Who is Jack LaSota?
A: Jack LaSota is a person of interest in the Zajko killings and is currently facing charges of obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania.
Q: What is the connection between Maximilian Snyder and the case?
A: Maximilian Snyder was charged with the killing of Curtis Lind, the landlord who was attacked with a sword in Vallejo.
