Police: Bennington man jumped out of window to flee from officers, remains at large

Police are looking for a Bennington man wanted on attempted murder and assault and robbery charges, who jumped out of a second-story window to evade authorities.

Bennington Police and the Vermont Department of Corrections have been trying to locate 37-year-old Zachary J. Dumas since he disappeared from a corrections department community supervision program, according to The Bennington Banner.

An arrest warrant was issued on Sept. 8. On Thursday, police received a tip at about 1:30 p.m. that he was at 303 Pleasant St. Bennington Police officers went to the residence and made contact with him. However, he ran up a flight of stairs and locked himself into an apartment, according to a news release.

Police surrounded the building and waited for the renter of the apartment to arrive with a key. Then, police entered the apartment. At that point, Dumas dove out of a second-story window onto the roof of the building. He leaped from the rooftop, ran from a garage roof and dove over the fence and a row of hedges to elude authorities.

He was later spotted on Middle Pownal Road. Police established a perimeter using members of the Bennington Police Department and Vermont State Police. Air support was provided by the New York State Police Aviation unit, which used a helicopter and drones to assist with the search on Middle Pownal Road and Morgan Street Extension.  Local fire departments were utilized to close the roads in the area.

Efforts to locate Dumas were not successful and the search was called off at approximately 10:30 p.m.

Anyone with information concerning the whereabouts of Dumas is asked to call the Bennington Police Department at 802-442-1030.  

Dumas should be considered dangerous and has a history or running from the police and resisting arrest.