Teen faces charges in fatal shooting involving dispute between two Hartford men in Vermont

State police in Vermont are set to charge a Hartford man in the killing of another Hartford resident earlier this year in Brattleboro.

Vermont State Police on Tuesday said they obtained a warrant charging Elias J. Lopez, 18, with second-degree murder in the March 23 killing of 21-year-old Tamico Williams in an apartment on Birge Street in Brattleboro.

Lopez is in custody at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont, on an unrelated federal charge, state police said. He will be served with the arrest warrant after coordination by the Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, according to state police.

Vermont State Police said Williams was fatally shot by Lopez during a physical altercation between the two over an alleged dispute connected to selling drugs in the Birge Street apartment where the incident occurred. Officers from the Brattleboro Police Department responded to the apartment at about 7:50 p.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting the sound of gunshots.

Police found Williams dead in the apartment and requested Vermont State Police take over the investigation.

Lopez has been in custody since last Thursday when he was arrested on a federal drug distribution charge following a raid on Linden Street in Brattleboro by federal, state and local law enforcement.

The warrant connected to Williams’ death stipulates Lopez will be held without bail pending an arraignment in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro.

Vermont State Police on Tuesday said they were unable to comment further.