Andrew Brown told police that Brian McAndrew fired a shot at him Saturday night in Woodbury that just missed his head, and a second shot hit him in the thigh, according to a police filing in court.
McAndrew is charged with attempted murder, among other charges.
“Brown said that the bullet missed his head and hit the car parked next to the porch,” the filing stated. “Brown said that he had a burn from the bullet on his left ear.”
After the first shot, Brown told police, he grabbed the muzzle of McAndrew’s gun and tried to aim it away from his head. When McAndrew fired again, the bullet struck Brown in his right leg, according to the police affidavit.
Brown, 35, of Lyndonville was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, where he had surgery to place a metal rod in his right femur, the affidavit stated.
McAndrew, 38, of Woodbury, was arrested Saturday night at the scene of the shooting. He appeared Monday afternoon in Washington County Superior criminal court in Barre via video from the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
McAndrew pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder, aggravated domestic assault, assault with a deadly weapon and assault. If convicted of the attempted murder charge alone, he could face life in prison.
Judge Kevin Griffin agreed to a request from Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault to hold McAndrew in custody without bail, awaiting further court action.
“I think we’re fortunate that we’re dealing with an attempted murder under the circumstances, not a consummated murder,” Thibault told the judge.
Maggie Vincent, a public defender representing McAndrew, had argued that her client could safely be released on conditions and was not a risk to flee. She said McAndrew was a lifelong resident of Vermont, had a job, and could stay with a relative, if granted release.
“The allegations themselves are fairly shocking under the circumstances,” Judge Griffin said, in ordering McAndrew held without bail.
The incident took place June 18 at 10:05 p.m. at a house on Dog Pond Road in Woodbury, where McAndrew was living with a woman. The woman told police that she and McAndrew had argued earlier that night while driving, and he threatened her with a firearm.
When they returned home, the woman told police, she called Brown — with whom she had previously been in a relationship — to come pick her up because she was scared of McAndrew.
When Brown arrived at the house and knocked on the door, McAndrew began arguing with him, and told him he would not let the woman leave, the affidavit stated
That’s when McAndrew fired at Brown, the woman told police.
Several officers from the Vermont State Police, Hardwick Police Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene after the shooting and McAndrew was taken into custody.
He declined to give a statement to police, according to the affidavit.
