According to police reports, a woman is due in court. She was accused of attacking a man with a broom handle. While this might seem like something of an unconventional weapon, it certainly still constitutes a weapon nonetheless.
Investigators say that Juanita Aldrich of West Dover struck a man on the head with a broom handle. The attack occurred during an altercation at a campground. Actions taken during the altercation lead to Aldrich being charged with domestic assault.
Improvised weapons are fairly common during cases of domestic assault. When arguments turn nasty individuals might reach for whatever they can find on hand. This gives them the opportunity to use things that would otherwise never be considered in such situations.
Castleton police responded to the callout on Saturday August 10. Emergency personnel from Hubbardton and Fair Haven went to the campground near Route 30. The victim was treated at the scene, and does not appear to have sustained a life threatening injury at this time. That is a good sign, and there is nothing to suggest at the current time that there were any reason to suspect that treatments were not effective.
When injuries cause a serious challenge to life and limb things change drastically in court. A charge of domestic assault could be moved to something like manslaughter or even homicide. Fortunately it does not appear that anything too severe happened in the case of the 49-year-old Aldrich.
Aldrich was held at Rutland Jail on $10,000 bail. While she was expected to appear in a criminal court for the domestic assault charges, she did not respond to requests for comment. While she is entitled to representation by an attorney like anyone else it was not clear whether or not she had one.
In most cases if an individual charged with a crime cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to them. Nevertheless people have the right to dismiss any legal representation if they so wish. Some people who are particularly distraught will not give any consideration to who is representing them in court.