Rutland
The bail ruling had been anticipated since last week when prosecutors dropped the most serious charges against Sawyer, including three counts of attempted murder, following a recent Vermont Supreme Court decision in the case.
That left pending two misdemeanor counts, which Kelly Green, Sawyer’s public defender, described in court on Wednesday as “hanging by a thread.”
Green declined comment immediately after the hearing, and later only said that her client would not be posting bail on Wednesday. Green said in court that if released, Sawyer is seeking to go to the Brattleboro Retreat, or another similar facility, for inpatient psychiatric care.
Prosecutors had sought to keep bail at $100,000, the amount set by the judge following an earlier hearing.
Green argued for Sawyer’s release on conditions only, and if monetary bail were imposed, Green asked that it be set at $5,000 requiring a 10 percent deposit.
The judge sided with neither attorney, dropping the cash bail to $10,000.
“Fairly viewed,” Vermont Superior Court Judge Thomas Zonay said, “the nature and circumstances of the offenses, (Sawyer’s) stated basis for returning to Vermont to effectuate a shooting, and his character and mental condition call into question his ability to make decisions based upon what may be his long-term interest.”
The judge added, “On all the factors, and having considered (Sawyer’s) financial status, this court concludes that bail in the amount of $10,000 is the amount necessary to reasonably assure his appearance.”
The judge also set strict conditions for Sawyer should he post bail, including that he be released into the custody of his father, David Sawyer, of Poultney, Vt., and abide by a 24-hour curfew, leaving the residence only under the “eyeball” supervision of his father.
Sawyer’s mother lives in Florida with his stepfather, David Wolk, the former president of Castleton University.
Other conditions of Sawyer’s release are that he is prohibited from venturing onto any school property, and he must stay out of the town of Fair Haven. He also cannot use or possess “any device” with internet capabilities.
“Do you understand these conditions?” Zonay asked Sawyer, as the hearing came to a close.
“Yes,” replied Sawyer, seated at the defense table in cuffs and dressed in the same gray sweatshirt, tan pants and sneakers he has worn to previous hearings in the case.
“Are you able to make sure that you follow these conditions?” Zonay asked.
“Yes,” Sawyer responded.
Sawyer initially was ordered held without bail following his arrest in mid-February on attempted murder charges.
However, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that, in Vermont case law, merely planning to commit a crime did not meet the standard for him to be charged with an attempt to commit a crime. The ruling meant Sawyer no longer could be held without bail, and it cast doubt on the felony charges against him.
Though Zonay had set bail at $100,000 at a hearing last week, the prosecutors’ subsequent decision to drop the felony charges, saying the Supreme Court ruling had made continued prosecution on those counts “untenable,” led to the hearing on Wednesday morning.
Sawyer still faces two misdemeanor offenses: criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon with the avowed purpose to commit serious injury or death.
Together, those misdemeanor offenses could carry a prison sentence of three years. Until the felony charges were dismissed, Sawyer had faced the possibility of life in prison without parole.