The driver accused of crashing his pickup truck and killing a Rutland police officer during a motor-vehicle pursuit more than three years ago is expected to stand trial next spring, with the case to be heard in Rutland County.
Attorney David Sleigh, representing Tate Rheaume as he faces several charges, including a count of aggravated murder, told a judge Monday during a hearing that he was withdrawing a motion filed earlier this year seeking to move the trial out of Rutland County.
Sleigh had contended in that earlier filing that the media attention the case garnered would make it difficult to seat a fair and impartial jury in Rutland County.
The prosecution had opposed moving the case out of Rutland County.
Both Sleigh and Ian Sullivan, the Rutland County state’s attorney, told Judge Susan McManus at the hearing Monday in Rutland Superior criminal court that they were working on putting together a questionnaire to help screen potential jurors as part of the jury selection process.
Sleigh had raised the possibility of withdrawing the change of venue motion at a hearing earlier this month, adding that as an alternative he would be seeking to screen potential jurors through a written questionnaire.
“I think it’s an efficient way to address the enormous amount of publicity this case has generated, and the strong feelings that appear to exist in a large number of people in Rutland County,” Sleigh told the judge at the hearing last month.
Rheaume, 23, of Salisbury, has pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him stemming from the July 7, 2023 pursuit that led to the death of 19-year-old Jessica Ebbighausen, a Rutland City police trainee.
That pursuit ended on Woodstock Avenue when police said Rheaume, fleeing an officer in his pickup, crashed nearly head-on into a cruiser driven by Ebbighausen.
“It looks like we would be asking the court to look for two weeks for trial, late April or early May of 2027,” Sullivan told McManus during Monday’s hearing.
“That’s correct, your honor,” Sleigh added.
The judge said she anticipated an “expanded jury pool,” especially with the trial expected to run two weeks.
McManus said she would set another hearing in the case in about four weeks to talk about setting the dates for the trial.
“At least we’ll have time to solidify what that juror questionnaire will look like,” the judge said. “I don’t want to delay this any further.”
Rheaume did not attend Monday’s hearing and has been held without bail at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
This story was first published by VTDigger and is republished with permission as part of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s Community News Sharing Project.