Updated at 4:56 p.m.

The top — and soon to be only — prosecutor in Addison County agreed to have her driver's license suspended following her January arrest for drunk driving.

Addison County State's Attorney Eva Vekos will lose driving privileges for six months for refusing to undergo a breath test by Vermont State Police troopers in January, when she is accused of driving drunk to the scene of a homicide investigation.



Vekos initially contested the civil suspension of her license — a matter that is separate from the criminal case — but dropped her challenge late last month, ahead of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. By agreeing to have her license suspended, Vekos said in an emailed statement, she was not admitting guilt. Rather, she wanted to demonstrate that "it is always a better course to cooperate with law enforcement."

"We, as Vermonters, have the right to refuse to submit to evidentiary testing, but there are sanctions associated with a refusal," Vekos wrote.

By using public roads, drivers in Vermont are deemed to have given police consent to conduct a breath test, according to state law. Refusing to take the test is grounds to have one's license suspended. It also can be introduced as evidence in a criminal trial.

For the first offense, drivers with suspended licenses can, after 30 days, apply to use an interlock device. They can drive but must provide an alcohol-free breath sample before the vehicle will start.


"I fully intend to maintain my office in a successful and prolific manner as I’ve done the last year and a half," she wrote.

Whichever way she gets to the Middlebury courthouse, Vekos will face a deluge of work there.

Beginning next week, Vekos will be the only prosecutor in her office. Deputy state's attorney Mike Novelli left on June 15 to take a job with the Vermont Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting Vekos in the criminal case. A second, part-time deputy prosecutor, Anthony Bambrick, has tendered his resignation effective July 8, according to the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs.

A replacement for Novelli is expected to start in September, but until then, Vekos will be alone.

Vekos said the vacancies won't disrupt her ability to prosecute cases: "I fully intend to maintain a fully operational and prolific office even with the challenge of understaffing," she said.

Attorneys from other counties or departments may assist in Addison County in the coming months, Annie Noonan, labor relations and operations director for the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, said.

Vekos said she "steadfastly" maintains her innocence of the drunk-driving charge and intends to take her criminal case to trial.

At a hearing on Tuesday in Burlington, where the case is being heard, Assistant Attorney General Rose Kennedy said she expects a trial would last two days. The parties said the case should be ready for trial later this year.