Vermont Supreme Court rejects bail appeal for man charged with aggravated murder of Rutland City police officer

The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a Salisbury man charged with aggravated murder for his alleged role in a crash that killed 19-year-old Rutland City Police officer Jessica Ebbighausen last summer will remain behind bars while the case against him is pending.

The high court’s 11-page decision , issued Wednesday afternoon, rejected an appeal by Tate Rheaume seeking his release from custody.

Rheaume, through his attorney, “claims that there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find the requisite intent element,” the unanimous court decision stated. “We disagree.”

The justices added in the ruling, “The record amply supports the trial court’s conclusion that there was enough evidence for a jury to find that defendant intended to kill or cause great bodily harm to Officer Ebbighausen or, at the very least, acted with wanton disregard that death or serious bodily injury would occur.”

Ebbighausen was killed July 7, 2023 in Rutland, when Rheaume, who was attempting to flee police, struck her cruiser head-on with his pickup truck on Woodstock Avenue, according to charging documents.

Ebbighausen had joined the department less than two months prior as a part-time, Level 2 certified officer. She was scheduled to begin training the next month to get her full certification.

A three-justice panel of the Vermont Supreme Court made up of Chief Justice Paul Reiber and Justices Nancy Waples and William Cohen considered Rheaume’s bail appeal.

Rheaume, 21, had pleaded not guilty to lesser charges in the days after the July 2023 crash and had been released at that time after posting a $100,000 bond.

However, earlier this year, following the completion of a more thorough investigation by law enforcement and crash reconstruction experts, the charges against Rheaume were upgraded to include several other offenses, including the most serious one of aggravated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole, if convicted.

At an arraignment on the new charges in April, Judge Cortland Corsones ordered Rheaume held without bail, prompting a challenge from Rheaume’s attorney and the eventual appeal to the Supreme Court.

During oral arguments before the court earlier this week, Sean Milligan, a public defender representing Rheaume, challenged the strength of the evidence against his client.

Milligan also argued that Rheaume had complied with the previous conditions of his release when he was out awaiting trial for roughly nine months prior to the upgrade of the charges against him.

“I think the strongest evidence that Mr. Rheaume does not pose a risk of flight from prosecution is that without extradition proceedings, without a citation, with only notice of hearing through counsel, he appeared for arraignment on the aggravated murder charge,” Milligan said.

Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan, the prosecutor, said during his arguments to the Supreme Court that the evidence against Rheaume was strong and the trial court’s ruling should stand.

The case against Rheaume stems from when Vermont State Police said he was fleeing authorities who were looking for him after he allegedly harassed and broke into the residence of a former partner in Rutland on the afternoon of July 7, 2023.

Rheaume was driving his pickup truck west on Woodstock Avenue around 2:50 p.m. with a cruiser in pursuit, according to Vermont State Police. Two Rutland police cruisers were traveling east toward him at the same time, including one driven by Ebbighausen. She was with a supervising officer, Richard Caravaggio, who was in the passenger seat.

State police said Rheaume crossed over the centerline on Woodstock Avenue at a high rate of speed into the eastbound lanes of the roadway, colliding head-on with the cruiser Ebbighausen was driving before striking the second eastbound cruiser. Investigators said in court filings that Rheaume was driving at speeds between 76 and 82 mph at the point of impact.

Ebbighausen, who was thrown from the cruiser, died at the scene, according to state police. Neither Ebbighausen nor Caravaggio were wearing seatbelts.

“Before crossing that center line, defendant’s vantage point gave him a clear view of Officer Ebbighausen’s cruiser, and the cruiser’s lights and sirens were visible and audible,” the justices wrote in their decision, citing evidence presented as part of the case.

“Defendant took no evasive maneuvers, despite having time to do so,” the decision stated. “He did not attempt to brake, swerve, or slow down to avoid colliding with Officer Ebbighausen’s cruiser.”

In addition, the justices wrote, “there is substantial evidence from which a jury could find the aggravating fact” that Rheaume knew that the cruiser he crashed into was being driven by a law enforcement officer on official duty.

“The evidence shows that defendant had a clear view of Officer Ebbighausen’s vehicle — with its lights and sirens activated — before crossing into her lane of travel,” the justices wrote.

“Viewed in the light most favorable to the State,” the ruling added, “this evidence is sufficient for a jury to find that defendant knew the vehicle was being driven by a law enforcement officer who was performing her official duties.”

The next hearing in the case is set for later this month. No trial date has yet been scheduled.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Supreme Court rejects bail appeal for man charged with aggravated murder of Rutland City police officer .