FARMINGTON — A local man’s bail was set at $50,000 cash Wednesday pending a new trial on a domestic violence assault charge from 2017.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court last month overturned the felony domestic violence assault conviction of Wesley M. Villacci, 23, of Farmington, after finding a Franklin County court erred when giving instructions to the jury.
The high court vacated the conviction and ordered a new trial be held.
Villacci was convicted in September 2017 of felony domestic violence assault, connected to a physical abuse of a victim charge and violating conditions of release.
The jury, which deliberated for four hours, cleared him of a higher charge of aggravated assault. He had been sentenced to 4½ years in prison, with all but three years suspended, and four years of probation.
Villacci appeared before a judge at a Rumford court via televideo Wednesday from a Department of Corrections facility where Villacci is completing an Androscoggin County sentence on a domestic violence assault from 2015.
Villacci’s probation was revoked in the Androscoggin County case Sept. 21, 2017. A court ordered him to serve the entire 338 days of the suspended portion of an initial sentence of 364 days, with all but 26 days suspended, and two years of probation.
Once the Androscoggin County sentence is completed, Villacci will be held at the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington. He is scheduled to appear Aug. 22 at a Farmington court.
The $50,000 cash bail set Wednesday on the Franklin County charges can be reviewed, pending a motion to reconsider bail.
The bail conditions, if he is released, are no contact, direct or indirect, with the victim in the 2016 case and eight other people listed on a court document.
Release conditions also include no use or possession of alcohol, illegal drugs or their derivatives, or marijuana. He is also prohibited from using or possessing dangerous weapons, firearms or knives, according to a court document.
A conviction on a felony domestic violence assault carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
Wesley Villacci (Franklin County Detention Center)
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