AUGUSTA — Freed from prison in February, a Waterville man on probation for kidnapping is heading back for another stretch behind bars.
Michael R. Brown, 35, pleaded guilty Friday in Kennebec County Superior Court to domestic-violence assault, domestic-violence criminal threatening and violating conditions of release, all related to an Aug. 4 incident in Waterville.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but three years suspended, and two years of probation.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney James Mitchell Jr., said Brown grabbed his live-in girlfriend by the neck, held her on the bed and held a clenched fist to her face as the two argued.
Mitchell said Brown’s use of intoxicants led to the incident.
“I lost a great job and bright future,” Brown told Justice Michaela Murphy. “My powerlessness over chemicals has cost those who love me way too much.”
The woman, who is pregnant with his child, reported the incident to police several days later and said she almost immediately regretted it.
“I tried to stop everything that night,” she told the judge Friday. “Nobody would let me take it back. The three years is too much.”
Through tears, she said, “I love him. I wish I had never gone to police station that day.”
The woman also submitted a letter to the court requesting contact with Brown, who also spent much of the hearing in tears.
In addition to the domestic-violence charges, Brown admitted talking to the woman twice on the phone while he was being held in jail, a violation of conditions of bail.
“She put the money on the telephone account so he could call her,” said Brown’s attorney, David Crook. “He wishes this had never happened. He loves her very much. He’s been extraordinarily emotional about this.”
Brown had been convicted in 2008 in Caribou of kidnapping and a series of other charges involving a different female victim. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with all but five years suspended, and five years of probation. Those crimes occurred Aug. 27, 2007, in Presque Isle.
He was released on probation in February and had gotten a job and recently gained custody of his 8-year-old daughter. He lost that because of the more recent arrest and charges.
On Friday, Murphy warned him that he could serve as much as four more years in prison if he violated probation again.
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