ST. THOMAS — A St. Thomas man accused of repeatedly threatening to kill a Vermont-based state prosecutor in connection to an ongoing domestic assault case has been arrested by federal agents, according to court documents.
Todd Hoyte was arrested Tuesday on St. Thomas and is charged with knowingly and willfully transmitting, in interstate commerce, communications containing a threat to injure in violation of federal law, according to an arrest warrant issued by the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
The accompanying affidavit details a litany of threatening voicemails Hoyte allegedly left for Grand Isle County State Attorney Doug DiSabito, who is prosecuting an active domestic assault case in which Hoyte is the defendant.
Hoyte, who is representing himself in the Vermont domestic assault case, allegedly left more than 10 voicemails repeatedly threatening DiSabito’s life in a verbal onslaught of homophobic slurs and profane language, according to the affidavit. The voicemails, which occurred between July and October of 2024, all originated from a Virgin Islands phone number.
In one of the voicemails, left on July 29, 2024, Hoyte allegedly told DiSabito that his “days are numbered.” Hoyte allegedly said he would take DiSabito’s life as punishment for causing him problems in an expletive punctuated tirade.
The following month, in a voicemail dated August 7, 2024, Hoyte is accused of telling DiSabito he made a mistake for charging him, allegedly saying “I promise you justice is coming for you as sure as the next snowstorm is coming in Vermont.” In that same voicemail, Hoyte allegedly ended the call by saying, “I hate you more than Adolph Hitler.”
Two days later, Hoyte is accused of leaving another voicemail for DiSabito. “You made an attempt on my life as I see it,” Hoyte allegedly said. “So, I’m gonna return the favor to you.”
After DiSabito reported the threats to Vermont State Police in July of 2024, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a subpoena for phone records relating to the Virgin Islands phone number. The records revealed the service provider for the phone number was Viya, and that Hoyte opened the account in July 2024 with an address of Compass Point, St. Thomas. The FBI then analyzed location information for the phone, which revealed that all the calls to DiSabito had originated on St. Thomas and were, therefore, sent using interstate commerce as they originated outside of the state of Vermont.
Federal agents made contact with the son of Hoyte’s girlfriend during the investigation, according to the affidavit. The son told those agents that he believed his mother and Hoyte had moved to St. Thomas with the intention of buying a boat and opening an Airbnb business. He indicated that he did not believe Hoyte had any intention of returning to Vermont.
Hoyte has a long and violent criminal history spanning more than a decade. In 2012, he was arrested in Ashland, Massachusetts after allegedly attacking his landlord during a dispute over a denied loan. Authorities reported that Hoyte kicked the victim in the head, fractured several ribs, and attempted to strike him with a hammer. He also allegedly stole over $100 in cash and a set of power tools, which he later hid at a gas station. Police found drug paraphernalia at the scene, and Hoyte was charged with multiple offenses, including assault with intent to rob, unarmed robbery, possession of cocaine, and carrying a dangerous weapon. He was held on $150,000 bail, and the judge revoked his bail in a separate case involving threats against a police officer.
More recently, in 2019, Hoyte pleaded guilty to several charges in Vermont, including driving under the influence, criminal threatening, theft of services, and multiple violations of court-ordered conditions. One case involved a late-night altercation where police said Hoyte, visibly intoxicated, attempted to instigate fights outside local bars. He resisted arrest, spat on an officer, and falsely claimed to be a federal agent. In a separate incident, he was charged with threatening to kill a deputy state’s attorney and violating court orders by possessing alcohol and traveling out of state against restrictions.