Fair Haven case: Judge sets $100,000 bail for school shooting plot suspect

A judge has set bail at $100,000 for a Poultney teen suspected of plotting to carry out a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School.

Kelly Green, the lawyer for Jack Sawyer, 18, says bail likely would not be posted Tuesday. She added that she is going to review the decision, and then she will have a clearer idea of her next steps.

The bail review came after the Vermont Supreme Court overturned a hold-without-bail order issued for Sawyer earlier this year. The high court also said in its decision that there was not enough evidence to show Sawyer attempted a crime as defined by state law — only that he prepared to commit a crime.

The bail set by Judge Thomas Zonay was a higher amount than was requested by Rutland County State's Attorney Rosemary Kennedy. Kennedy initially asked the court to set $50,000 bail while Green asked that Sawyer be released on conditions.

If Sawyer posts bail, he will be placed in the custody of his father, David Sawyer, under a 24-hour curfew. David Sawyer agreed to sign a document listing a number of conditions of release, and told the judge that he would call the Vermont State Police immediately if he noticed any violations.

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Green said her team is trying to get Jack Sawyer a bed at the Brattleboro Retreat for inpatient mental health treatment. Zonay said he would consider suspending bail if she was successful in securing her client a bed.

Jack Sawyer's conditions of release also include requirements that he have no weapons and that he refrain from intentionally contacting certain people, including the New York teen who reported him to police, the school's resource officer, and students and teachers at his former high school in Fair Haven. He is also prohibited from going on school grounds, having devices with access to the Internet, and entering the town of Fair Haven. He is further required to, within 24 hours of his release, contact a licensed mental health professional.

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Jack Sawyer remains charged with four felony charges: aggravated assault with a weapon, attempted first degree murder and two counts of aggravated attempted murder. Zonay also found probable cause to charge him with two misdemeanor counts Tuesday: criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon "with the avowed purpose of injuring another." Sawyer has pleaded not guilty to all six charges.

New charges

Sawyer's lawyer challenged probable cause on both of the new charges.

For the first charge, Green said there needed to be evidence that Jack Sawyer knowingly threatened the school's resource officer, Fair Haven police Cpl. Scott Alkinburgh. Green argued that the threat would have needed to be directly communicated by Sawyer to Alkinburgh. She said the only places this threat was stated was in Sawyer's journal and to police during an interview before his arrest.

Rutland County State's Attorney Rose Kennedy said that because Jack Sawyer had been read his Miranda rights before making the statements to police during the interview, he had no reason but to assume that the target of his threats would become aware.

For the second charge, Green said Jack Sawyer would have needed to intend to carry out the shooting concurrently with having the gun. She said that text messages to his friend and statements to police show that as of Feb. 11, Sawyer was no longer intending to carry out the shooting. He bought the gun several days later.

Kennedy said that Jack Sawyer downplayed his intentions in text messages to his friends. She added that the suspect's target shooting practice was all part of his plan to practice before carrying out a shooting.

Outside of court, Green said she would continue her efforts to get the charges dismissed. She filed a renewed motion to dismiss the original felony charges on April 12 after the Vermont Supreme Court's decision was issued.

"Stay tuned," Green said.

Before declining further comment, Kennedy said, " All I'm going to say is the case is still alive, and I'm going to litigate it in court like I've been doing."

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4385 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.