2 figures in sprawling network of people linked to violence arrested in Maryland – VTDigger

Two figures linked to multiple killings in several states, including the January shooting of a border patrol officer in Coventry, Vermont, were arrested Sunday evening in Allegany County, Maryland, according to county records. 

Michelle Jacqueline Zajko and Jack Amadeus LaSota — also known as “Ziz,” according to media reports — were arrested and charged with several misdemeanors, according to Maryland court records.

Both were charged with misdemeanor firearm possession charges, trespassing on private property and “obstructing & hindering” a police officer, according to court records. Zajko also faces an additional charge of resisting or interfering with arrest. 

Detailed information about the arrests and charges was not immediately available early Monday afternoon.

Maryland State Police officer Brandon Jeffries, who is based in Cumberland, Maryland, carried out both arrests, according to county records. Zajko was booked into the Allegany County Detention Center at 6:12 p.m. Sunday, while LaSota was booked at 7:40 p.m. 

Lt. Elizabeth Shoemake, the director of operations at the Allegany County Detention Center, confirmed that LaSota and Zajko are currently detained at the facility.

Shoemake said she could not comment on the circumstances of the arrests, but she said that the two were not arrested based on a warrant, but rather “on-site activity.”

Both Zajko and LaSota have bail review hearings scheduled for tomorrow. 

Federal law enforcement officials named Zajko as a “person of interest” in a Jan. 20 shootout in Coventry, Vermont that left a border patrol officer and another individual dead. According to property and municipal records, Zajko was at one point a Coventry resident and owns land in Derby. Media reports, court records and online blog posts have also linked LaSota to Zajko.

Lt. Jeremy Stonebraker​ of the Maryland State Police declined Monday afternoon to comment on the arrests of Zajko and LaSota.

“The investigators that are working on the case aren’t going to do any press releases at this time because the investigation is kind of fluid and ongoing and the FBI is involved now,”  Stonebraker said.

Stonebraker oversees the state police barracks that covers Allegany County, Maryland.  

A person answering the phone at the Allegany County state’s attorney’s office referred questions to a prosecutor handling the cases, but that person was not in the office at the time of the call. 

A person answering a call to the FBI office in Baltimore, Maryland, said Monday afternoon that the office was closed due to the federal holiday of Presidents Day.

This story will be updated.