AUGUSTA — An Augusta man was sentenced to 10 days in jail for using his pickup truck to ram a car driven by a man who, police allege, earlier the same day had assaulted the truck driver’s girlfriend and who faces a charge of aggravated assault himself.
Jarody, who goes by only one name, records a recount Dec. 7, 2016, of ballots for Question 1, the referendum question that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana. Kennebec Journal file photo by Andy Molloy
Glenn Morin, 55, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving to endanger and assault Tuesday, with a felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon dismissed. He was sentenced, in a plea agreement, to 10 days in jail.
The victim in that case, Jarody, 35, also of Augusta, objected to the sentence as too short for someone who tried to kill him, he alleged in court Tuesday.
Jarody uses only one name, but court documents and the court justice on Tuesday referred to him by his former name, Jarody DiPietro.
“Glenn Morin tried to kill me on the day these crimes were committed, and it’s just combination of angles and maybe luck that kept him from being successful,” Jarody said. “I don’t find the 10-day sentence to be exactly appropriate.”
Speaking slowly in court Tuesday, Jarody said he was hospitalized due to the incident and suffers from long-term effects, including post concussion syndrome and reduced functioning, due to being struck by Morin’s truck during the June 14 incident in Augusta.
Prosecutor Frayla Tarpinian, deputy district attorney, said Morin’s sentence was only 10 days in jail in part because Morin has “no criminal history whatsoever” and even has nearly no driving citations on his record.
Justice Thomas Delahanty, an active retired superior court judge, said he thought “the 10 days should get (Morin’s) attention, and show this is not the way to take care of disputes.”
Morin, represented by attorney Stephen Bourget, was also fined a total of $875 and had his license suspended for 30 days.
Hundreds of marchers go past four counter-protesters on Capital Street during the Women’s March 2.0 on Jan. 20, 2018, in Augusta. Jarody, who only uses one name of Augusta, said that the green flag he was waving was from Kekistan. According to Southern Poverty Law Center, “The ‘national flag of Kekistan’ mimics a German Nazi war flag, with the Kek logo replacing the swastika and the green replacing the infamous German red. A 4chan logo is emblazoned in the upper left hand corner. Alt-righters are particularly fond of the way the banner trolls liberals who recognize its origins.” Kennebec Journal file photo by Joe Phelan
Tarpinian and William Baghdoyan, Jarody’s attorney, said Morin sought out Jarody, seeking revenge for an incident just hours earlier the same day in which, Augusta Police allege, Jarody assaulted Morin’s girlfriend, Melissa Gray.
Baghdoyan said Morin, upon learning of the previous incident, got in his pickup truck and went looking for Jarody, spotted him in a car, and rammed into him, then attempted to ram into him a second time, only to be thwarted because his truck stopped working. A citation issued to Morin indicated the incident took place on York Street.
Tarpinian said the state and Augusta Police were unable to get any information, or medical records, about any of Jarody’s injuries allegedly stemming from the incident because, she said, Jarody did not cooperate with them. She said they didn’t know what his injuries were but suspected he may have been injured.
Police charged Jarody with aggravated assault and assault for the incident in which he allegedly attacked and struck Gray earlier in the day on June 14.
A dispositional conference was held in that case Tuesday as well and Baghdoyan indicated a plea agreement had been reached to resolve the case, but that plea was not taken, due to delays in court Tuesday, and the case was rescheduled to Dec. 19.
An affidavit filed by Michael Raymond, a police officer in Augusta, states Gray told him she and Jarody, who owns a building on Washington Street Place, had been arguing over rent money and she told Jarody she was going to get an attorney and he attacked her. She said he charged at her and punched her in the face multiple times, causing her to fall to the ground where, she said, he continued to punch her and also kicked her.
Jarody Kennebec Journal file photo
Gray’s roommate told police he also saw Jarody punch and kick Gray, whose face, the affidavit stated, was swollen and covered in blood when she was interviewed by police. Gray was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center and told police she suffered a broken nose.
Gray tried to address the court at Tuesday’s session, from the gallery of the courtroom, saying she wanted to tell the court what Jarody did to her, before she was told to stop talking by Delahanty.
Jarody, 35, who ran unsuccessfully in 2016 for Augusta City Council and in the 2010 Republican primary to represent Augusta in the state House of Representatives, was a participant in Occupy Augusta‘s stay at Capitol Park in 2011, and has also attended and displayed signs or flags at other protest events.
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