Judge calls man's behavior 'bizarre'
Toolbox
By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff - Published: January 10, 2009
BENNINGTON — A Manchester resident was chastised by a judge in Bennington District Court for failing to appear in court, something the judge said he had to characterize as "bordering on the bizarre."
Jeffrey Schuermann, 46, of New Ireland Road, was arraigned in July on a charge of violation of an abuse prevention order.
Judge John Wesley explained to Schuermann that if he had come to court for a scheduled hearing in December the judge would not have issued an arrest warrant, which led to Schuermann appearing in court Monday in handcuffs.
"The fact is, this is part of the reason for the bail; we could have tried Mr. Schuermann's case in December. If Mr. Schuermann had been here, there was a trial date that would have been open and this matter would have been resolved, already at this time, one way or another. He would have been found guilty or he would have been acquitted. Instead we have been left completely unaware until today about Mr. Schuermann's whereabouts," he said.
Manchester attorney James Dingley, who was representing Schuermann, said his client told him he was out of the state in December to attend to a relative who was undergoing surgery in Michigan but Wesley said Schuermann had neglected to tell the court about that.
Police said Schuermann had violated a temporary relief from abuse order that had been filed on June 30.
In an affidavit, police said a woman who had a temporary relief from abuse order against Schuermann reported on July 7 that Schuermann had approached her on July 4 and 5.
On July 4, according to the affidavit, Schuermann asked the woman, "Can't we work this out without going to the legal system?"
She also told police he tried to convince her to meet him at the hotel where he was staying.
The woman told police that on July 5, Schuermann asked her "where she was spiritually because there were a lot of people praying for them" and asked her to meet him again.
Police said the woman told them on both days, she told Schuermann he wasn't supposed to be speaking to her.
Schuermann pleaded not guilty to the charges and was scheduled to be tried in December but he did not appear in court on Dec. 3 or Dec. 12 when a jury was scheduled to be drawn.
In Bennington District Court on Monday, Dingley said the woman had dropped the restraining order after Schuermann was arraigned.
"I know that does not negate the criminal charge but when we look at the underlying alleged conduct … Does it set forth a factual basis for conviction? The answer is yes. But the conduct in itself is not any type of stalking or threatening behavior," he said.
Schuermann had ties to Bennington County through family, career and real estate, according to Dingley.
Schuermann, who was representing himself at the time, believed that the court case could be delayed simply by his request for a delay which Dingley called a "gross misunderstanding" on Schuermann's part.
Wesley, however, said he recalled making it very clear to Schuermann that he had to appear in court when his case was scheduled.
"It is difficult for me to believe that Mr. Schuermann had a 'gross misunderstanding' about his obligations," he said.
Wesley said he also believed that Schuermann had returned to living with the woman whose complaint to police led to the charges.
"When it became clear that the conditions of release in the criminal case were not going to be relaxed to allow that and from the court's point of view, thereafter, Mr. Schuermann's response to the court's insistence that, one way or the other, this matter had to be resolved and soon, was to go largely into hiding," he said.
Wesley said he was willing to reduce the $10,000 bail to $5,000 because of the nature of the charges and his lack of a criminal record.
"But I am not going to eliminate cash bail. Mr. Schuermann in the court's view continues to be a risk of non-appearance based on his past behavior which the court has to characterize as bordering on the bizarre," he said.
A jury draw date of Jan. 16 has been set in Schuermann's case.
Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.
14