A man who wielded a gun at police officers in Pownal last year — and was ultimately shot several times by law enforcement — was sentenced to 12 months and a day in jail Monday on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Bernard Rougeau, 49, is still facing an attempted murder charge in state court for the same incident on October 18, 2018. His previous criminal record includes felony convictions for arson and third-offense drunk driving.
The incident began when state troopers responded to an emergency call to Rougeau’s home, where he was reportedly drunk and suicidal.
Rougeau then allegedly confronted officers on scene with a loaded 12-gauge double-barrelled shotgun in hand, refusing commands to surrender the weapon.
Vermont State Police Trooper Thomas Sandberg shot Rougeau twice in the torso. Rougeau was then tased by another officer after he continued to refuse to relinquish his gun. He was eventually airlifted to Albany Medical Center for treatment.
Prosecutors Monday called for a sentence of 12 months and one day for the charge (the extra day being included because federal inmates can only receive credit toward early release for good behavior if they are serving a sentence longer than a year). Federal sentencing guidelines recommend a 12 to 18 month sentence for the level and type of charge in question.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Spencer Willig argued that the yearlong sentence would take the “significant” mitigating factors in the case into account, like Rougeau’s lifelong struggle with alcoholism and mental health issues, while also respecting the seriousness of the offense and the risk he posed to officers’ lives that day.
“It would send a message to the community about what will not be tolerated here,” Willig told Judge William K. Sessions.
The defense, meanwhile, argued for a six-month sentence. Assistant federal defender Steven Barth argued that such a sentence wouldn’t actually be a departure from the federal guidelines, since the judge could impose a split sentence that included a period of supervised release that extended into the 12-18 months.
Sessions noted that the gun in question belonged to Rougeau’s father, and was kept around as a memory piece, not as something that was ever used. The defense added that Rougeau had already suffered extensively for his crimes, including being shot twice, tasered once, and spending a year with a colostomy bag — not to mention the pending state charges.
“It was just an alcohol-fueled incident,” Barth said.
Before Sessions made his decision, he asked if Rougeau would like to speak.
“Alcohol has been a problem since I was a teenager,” Rougeau said. “Since I was 15.” He talked about how he fashioned his life so that he wouldn’t have to drive — he could just walk to his job, walk home, and drink.
“It’s not really a good way to live, but that’s what I chose to do,” Rougeau said.
Sessions commented that it seemed like every time something went wrong, Rougeau would drink — but Rougeau corrected him.
“It’s that every time I drink, things get bad,” he said. He said he’d let his family down, and that his mother would probably die before he could get out of jail to see her again.
“That’s something I’ll have to live with now,” he said.
Sessions ultimately ruled in favor of the prosecution with a 12 month and 1 day sentence, to be served concurrently with any potential state charges. He also stipulated a three-year period of supervised release after the jail time has been served.
Barth noted that there is no set timeline for Rougeau’s trial on state charges. He said negotiations have not gotten very far, and were largely stalled while the federal case was pending.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Man who confronted officers with gun sentenced to 12 months on federal charge.