A plea agreement calling for a 30-month sentence for a Pownal man shot several times by police more than two years ago is now on hold, waiting for more information.
Bernard Rougeau, 50, pleaded guilty last month in Bennington County Superior criminal court to aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer — pointing a loaded firearm at Vermont State Police Trooper Thomas Sandberg and threatening him.
In addition, Rougeau had initially been charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with the incident on Oct. 18, 2018.
Last month, Judge Cortland Corsones decided not to accept the 30-month sentence agreed to by the prosecutor and Rougeau’s attorney, saying he needed more information. He called on the state Department of Corrections to conduct an “expedited” presentence investigation and report to the court. A hearing was set for Thursday.
However, the report is not yet complete, and Corsones indicated Thursday he won’t rule on the plea agreement until it is done.
“My preliminary understanding was that at least one of the victims was not in favor of the plea agreement,” Corsones said, referring to Sandberg. “The court for many reasons, but including that, wanted to get a [presentence investigation] done so the court could have more thorough standing before issuing this sentence in this case.”
With credit for time served since his arrest in 2018, the 30-month sentence would make Rougeau immediately eligible for release. Under the plea deal, the other charges against Rougeau — attempted second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and interference with emergency services — would be dropped.
The charge of attempted second-degree murder carries a possible prison sentence of up to life in prison.
The hearing Thursday took place over video, with Rougeau appearing from Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. Sandberg did not take part in the hearing.
According to police, Sandberg shot Rougeau outside the man’s home in Pownal after he refused orders to drop his shotgun. Police were sent to Rougeau’s home that night after receiving emergency calls that he was drunk and suicidal.
Rougeau’s mother told police that her son was “going out of his mind,” court records stated.
Prosecutors say Rougeau confronted the officers while carrying a loaded 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun. He then refused commands to surrender the weapon and raised it toward a trooper.
State police investigators said Sandberg fired twice and struck Rougeau in the torso, but even then, Rougeau refused to relinquish the shotgun, and another trooper used a stun gun to disarm him.
Rougeau was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in New York for treatment and was later released.
Separate reviews by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s Office cleared Sandberg of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting and determined his use of force to be justified.
In addition to the Bennington County case, Rougeau was later charged in federal court in Vermont with being a felon in possession of a firearm — stemming from the same incident — and was sentenced to 12 months and a day in jail on that charge.
