AUGUSTA — Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated criminal mischief charges in unrelated incidents — one for damaging Dollar General in Litchfield with his car and the other for trashing a Hallowell home under renovation.
The hearings were held at the Capital Judicial Center.
Nicholas Aaron Osgood, 34, of Farmington, had been indicted last week on charges of aggravated criminal mischief, violation of condition of release and driving to endanger. He pleaded guilty to the first two charges Tuesday, and the third was dismissed. He was sentenced to six months in jail.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair, described the Aug. 4, 2017, incident for Justice William Stokes.
LeClair said Osgood’s car had driven off Route 126 over a lawn, up over another roadway and across another lawn before traveling through the parking lot and striking the store, forcing those inside to flee.
Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office deputies who responded found an unopened six-pack of Twisted Tea in the vehicle as well as several cans of industrial strength Ultra Duster — compressed air typically used to remove dust from keyboards.
At the time of the crash, Osgood’s passenger, Sheri Barrett, then 25, of Litchfield, told investigators she had been huffing Ultra Duster and gave Osgood a hit and he passed out, according to an affidavit by Kennebec Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Moody.
“The defendant, when questioned, said when he woke up he remembered seeing damage to the car but doesn’t remember what happened prior,” Le Clair said, adding that the state was proceeding under the theory that Osgood was acting recklessly when the crash occurred.
The cost of repairing damage to the store was estimated at $8,000.
Osgood’s defense attorney, William Baghdoyan, said the issue at trial would have been whether Osgood lost consciousness because of Ultra Duster or he fell asleep.
Baghdoyan said the defense believed a jury could find that Osgood was driving recklessly “when he was very tired.”
Osgood is serving a year at the Maine Correctional Center, which is the unsuspended portion of a five-year term for unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. He also is serving a concurrent year for possession of methamphetamines.
The sentences for the charges of aggravated criminal mischief and violating conditions of release — for possessing alcohol while his bail conditions prohibited that — were concurrent to the York County sentences as well.
In the other case, Thomas Edward Smith, 61, of Traverse City, Michigan, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal mischief in connection with a break-in at 241 Water St., Hallowell, this summer.
He was sentenced to two years in jail, with all but 67 days suspended — and given credit for 67 days served — and placed on probation for two years.
Conditions prohibit him from possession of illegal drugs and alcohol and order him to undergo mental health and substance abuse counseling.
He was ordered to pay restitution of up to $8,000.
“The victim said he wanted the defendant to get help,” Assistant District Attorney Tracy DeVol told Stokes.
DeVol said the damage was discovered Aug. 31 when two workers went there to continue renovations.
DeVol said Hallowell police found Smith there wearing boxers and shoes and doing laundry on the porch. She said items were missing and strewn around, white paint was overturned and Smith’s last name was written in paint on a mirror.
Smith’s attorney, Lisa Whittier, said Tuesday that while she believed Smith was competent to enter a plea, she would have preferred to pursue a defense of not criminally responsible, but Smith did not want that.
In exchange for the plea, a theft charge was dismissed.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
Send questions/comments to the editors.
