Man held without bail for assault

BRATTLEBORO — A homeless man being held in state custody, cited with felony aggravated assault, was denied a motion granting him bail.

According to court documents, James C. Lohr was arrested on Feb. 11, just two hours after he was released on bail for allegedly strangling a woman the day before. His conditions of release included not contacting his victim or even coming with 300 feet of her.

Lohr was held until Feb. 25, when a judge in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division, decided Lohr's incarceration without bail should continue.

Lohr appealed the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court, arguing that the victim's audio statement didn't constitute a sworn affidavit. Legal counsel for Lohr also argued that the woman couldn't give a sworn statement because she was intoxicated at the time.

The court disagreed on both arguments.

"Based on the exhibits and video clips admitted at hearing, as well as the applicable case law, the court concludes that the audio statement of the complainant is a sworn statement such that the evidence of guilt is great," wrote the Supreme Court in a decision issued March 20 upholding the hold-without-bail order. "Further, the Court does not find that [the complainant's] intoxication during the police interview renders her sworn statement inadmissible. By the Court's observations, the video does not present a woman who is unable to provide a coherent statement of the events that transpired. Indeed, she states quite clearly that the defendant 'beat,' 'slammed,' and 'chok[ed]' her."

The court noted that "the extremely violent nature of Mr. Lohr's unprovoked acts against [the complainant], his re-arrest after he went to [her] home upon his release ... as well as his criminal history, including violations of an abuse prevention order and prior conditions of release, establish by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's release would pose a substantial threat of physical violence to the complainant, and that no condition or combination of conditions of release would reasonably prevent the physical violence."

According to the decision, prior to his arrest, Lohr was reportedly living in a tent "and in need of medical care."

Lohr's history of criminal convictions includes credit card fraud, simple assault, threatening to commit a crime, criminal harassment, violating an abuse-prevention order, violations of conditions of release, and a violation of probation from both Massachusetts and Vermont spanning a 10-year stretch from 2005 to 2015.

Lohr is next scheduled in local court on April 20.

Bob Audette can be contacted at raudette@reformer.com.