After conflicting reports about his immigration status, it’s not been confirmed that the German national involved in a shootout with Customs and Border Patrol in Vermont last week was in the U.S. illegally.
The shootout occurred in the Swanton Sector, which includes New Hampshire’s section of the border with Canada, and resulted in the death of David “Chris” Maland, a 44-year-old Border Patrol agent. The German national, Felix Baukholt, was also killed. His companion, 21-year-old Teresa Youngblut of Seattle was injured.
She is charged with one count of using a deadly weapon while assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent and one count of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to that assault.
Baukholt was in the U.S. on an expired visa.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Youngblut and Baukholt had been on authorities’ radar after a motel clerk in Lyndonville reached out to federal agents the previous Tuesday when the couple checked in, reportedly armed and wearing black tactical gear. Investigators also spotted Baukholt and Youngblut walking in public in downtown Newport wearing the same gear and openly carrying firearms.
Vermont is an open-carry state. Federal investigators reported trying to interact with the couple but said they were not interested in talking and indicated they were in the region shopping for real estate.
It’s still unclear from the DOJ affidavit who was directly responsible for the shooting death of Maland.
“During the stop, Youngblut fired her handgun without warning toward at least one of the Border Patrol Agents while outside the vehicle,” the affidavit states. “Her German companion also tried to draw a firearm, and at least one Border Patrol Agent fired his service weapon. The exchange of gunfire resulted in Border Patrol Agent David Maland sustaining fatal injuries. Youngblut and her companion were also shot. The German man was pronounced dead at the scene, and Youngblut was taken to the hospital for medical care.”
According to a Seattle Times report, Youngblut’s parents reported their daughter missing last May after she abruptly moved out of their house, changed her phone number, and told them in an email she was cutting off all contact. Youngblut also cut off all contact with friends while a neighbor told the newspaper Youngblut’s mother said a man “might be involved in this situation.”
Fast-forward to Jan. 20, and just hours before Monday’s shootout on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vt. Federal agents tailing the duo reported observing Baukholt enter a nearby Walmart in Newport and return to the Toyota with aluminum foil. According to the DOJ report, Baukholt was “seen wrapping unidentifiable objects with aluminum foil while seated in the vehicle” and later outside the car chatting on his phone.
During a search at the scene of the shootout, investigators found two packets of cell phones wrapped in aluminum foil behind the responding Border Patrol’s Chevy Tahoe SUV.
The affidavit noted agents found the following items inside the Toyota: A ballistic helmet; night-vision goggles, one tactical belt complete with a holster; one magazine loaded with cartridges, two full-face breathing respirators, 48 rounds of .380-caliber, hollow-point bullets, one package of shooting range targets — including some already used — two handheld two-way radios, roughly a dozen electronic devices and multiple electronic storage devices, documents containing identification, utility, lease, travel, and lodging information related to several states, and “an apparent journal” found with Youngblut’s identification papers.
The affidavit also confirmed that a “.40-caliber Glock 23 was secured from on or near Youngblut after the incident” while a “.380-caliber M&P Shield was secured from on or near Baukholt after the incident”.
The findings were reportedly “consistent with Youngblut having fired the .40-caliber Glock 23 at least twice from the driver’s side of the Prius, one or more Border Patrol Agents returning fire with at least seven 9-millimeter shots.”
Meanwhile, the incident has drawn attention to security levels along the Swanton section of the northern Canadian border, which extends from New York through New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has vowed to make illegal immigration and border security a key priority of her administration.
“It should be more than clear that the Northern Border Alliance is critical to the safety of our state and our nation, and they must have the resources necessary to do their jobs,” Ayotte added. ‘We must do everything we can to ensure our Border Patrol and local law enforcement have the tools they need to secure the Swanton Sector.”
