SAMANTHA FOLZ

OFFICER IN CUSTODY CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER

10/31/2018

A Shippensburg Borough Police Department patrol officer is in custody charged with the
vehicular manslaughter in Monday’s fatal hit-and-run accident.
The officer, Todd Burnes, 27, of 1502 Matador Drive, Apartment 203, is charged with
vehicular manslaughter, fleeing the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, failure to
render assistance and filing a false police report. Burnes is charged in the hit-and-run death of
Vivian Hoffman, 67, of 711 Meadow Creek Drive, which occurred Monday evening. Hoffman
was wearing a grey wool coat at the time of her death.
Charges are also being filed against Marlene Griffin, 32, of 3130 Joyce Drive, are
pending. Griffin is the detective at Shippensburg Borough Police Department who was tasked
with this case. Griffin is also the girlfriend of Burnes. Griffin is facing charges of conspiracy,
aiding and abetting a crime and filing a false police report.
The discovery of Burnes’ role in this case was shocking to the entire department. Police
Chief Barry Kopperud announced in a press conference this morning that “no one- not one of our
officers, not even me- is above the law. Sadly, today, I have to take one of our own into custody
because he failed to live up to our motto of protect and serve.”
Authorities uncovered a lead in the case when a witness who lives in Burnes’ apartment
complex came forward saying that she had seen Burnes and Griffin examining the vehicle’s
damage on Tuesday morning. The witness said that she saw the damage and saw the couple
leave in the vehicle and return later in the day with even more damage to the passenger’s side of
the vehicle.
Burnes was driving a tan, unmarked police cruiser at the time of the accident. According
to the police report, Burnes was driving west on Meadow Creek Drive towards a reported car
accident. Burnes says that he heard a loud thump and thought that he “hit a dog or deer or
something” but did not stop to check because he was hurrying to the scene of the reported
accident.
The next morning, Burnes discovered passenger-side damage to the cruiser and called
Griffin. Griffin told Burnes not to report the damage until he heard from her. Later that day, the
two took the car to a secluded building lot and drive towards a utility pole, side-swiping the
vehicle fender to hide the pre-existing damage.
Griffin told her superiors that there were no suspects in the hit-and-run accident and
proceeded to tell Burnes to report that the damage had occurred when he was reporting to the car
accident and that he did not realize that the damage was that severe until the next morning.
 Once the witnesses report was examined by the International Affairs Division of the
department, detectives began to question Burnes about the accident and his report.
Upon further investigation, authorities found grey wool fibers on the fender of Burnes’
vehicle which matched those of the coat worn by Hoffmann on the night of her death.