State v. Reginald Book, 253 A.3d 893

Defendant Reginald Book was charged with six offenses including attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and related counts arising from incidents on December 4 and 6, 2020 in West Haven, Vermont.
On December 4 officers responded to a trespass and scuffle; defendant resisted arrest and was cited. On December 6 defendant shoved a nephew (simple assault) and later refused to exit an airport shuttle bus when troopers sought to arrest him.
Officers used spike strips and attempted to corral the bus; defendant twice moved the bus toward officers. Trooper Sullivan stumbled and briefly touched the ground as the bus approached; dash-cam footage and forensics later estimated the bus came within ~12 feet.
During the standoff defendant told a 911 operator statements including “First one that starts playing fucking games is going to be sorry,” and, after shots were fired, “They will get run over for less than that.” Trooper Roland fired at the bus to stop it.
The State moved under 13 V.S.A. § 7553 to hold defendant without bail because the attempted-murder charge carried potential life imprisonment and, the court found, the evidence of guilt was great.
The superior court held a weight-of-the-evidence hearing, concluded the State produced substantial admissible evidence from which a jury could infer intent to kill, denied bail, and the Supreme Court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for attempted 2nd-degree murder (intent)	Evidence (bus driven toward trooper, close distance, 911 threats) permits a jury to infer intent to kill	State must prove specific intent to kill for attempted 2nd-degree murder; evidence insufficient	Court assumed (without deciding a higher mens rea question) and held that viewing evidence for the State, substantial admissible evidence supports a jury finding intent to kill
Alleged gaps in the information’s factual language (trooper fell; threat to drive into him)	Testimony and dash-cam show Trooper Sullivan slipped and touched ground; defendant’s acts/words constitute a threat	Information alleges facts not supported by evidence	Court held there was substantial admissible evidence that Sullivan fell and that defendant threatened to drive into him
Abuse of discretion in denying bail under 13 V.S.A. § 7553	The State met the § 7553 threshold so burden shifted; court properly considered § 7554(b) factors and risk to public	Defendant argued evidence insufficient and presented mitigating testimony; court should have set bail/conditions	Court found no abuse of discretion: weighed offenses, danger to public, unwillingness to follow orders, prior convictions, and declined bail

State v. Hatcher, 706 A.2d 429 (Vt. 1997) (defines mental states sufficient for second-degree murder: intent to kill, intent to do great bodily harm, or wanton disregard)
State v. Cole, 554 A.2d 253 (Vt. 1988) (intent rarely proved directly; may be inferred from acts and circumstances)
State v. Devoid, 8 A.3d 1076 (Vt. 2010) (elements of attempt require intent plus an overt act toward completion)
State v. Sawyer, 187 A.3d 377 (Vt. 2018) (defines attempt as intent plus an act that would complete the crime but for interruption)
State v. Ford, 130 A.3d 862 (Vt. 2015) (appellate standard of review for § 7553 decisions and requirements for nonarbitrary bail decisions)
State v. Johnson, 90 A.3d 874 (Vt. 2013) (circumstantial evidence—including words accompanying violent acts—can support inference of intent to kill)