AUBURN — A Lisbon man was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison for stabbing a friend dozens of times in 2021.
Matthew Newton Fortin Androscoggin County Jail
Matthew Newton-Fortin, 20, had been charged with attempted murder, but pleaded guilty to elevated aggravated assault, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Noah Chaisson, who was 17 at the time of the attack, underwent emergency surgery Jan. 26, 2021, when doctors removed his spleen. He was stabbed in the head, chest and back.
The assault was unprovoked, Active-Retired Justice Paul A. Fritzsche said in Androscoggin County Superior Court as he imposed the agreed-to sentence by prosecutors and the defendant.
Chaisson, who was fearful and anxious about testifying at trial, expressed his sentiments about the crime and sentencing through Trial Assistant Faith Robbins, who read a statement in court Wednesday.
Speaking for Chaisson, she said Newton-Fortin “almost killed me” and the 14-year sentence “feels like a slap on the wrist to me.”
The injuries Newton-Fortin inflicted on Chaisson “have severely impacted my ability to live a normal life,” Robbins read, including making it difficult to work.
She said Chaisson has undergone “extensive medical treatment” in an effort to recover. “But the pain and limitations persist.”
“I strongly believe” a “more severe sentence” is warranted, she read.
“This is a heinous act that should not be taken lightly,” she read.
Fritzsche said a trial would have been necessary in this case in order for him to impose a sentence of more than 14 years. And Chaisson would have had to testify at that trial.
“There’s no getting around that,” he said.
Fritzsche said 14 years “is actually a very long sentence.”
Newton-Fortin declined to make a statement Wednesday.
Fritzsche said there were mental health issues on the part of defendant and victim.
Newton-Fortin has remained at Androscoggin County Jail since his arrest in lieu of $75,000 cash bail.
Police responded Jan. 26, 2021, to Beech Street in Lisbon for a report of an injured 17-year-old boy who had been assaulted.
The boy was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for evaluation and treatment of his injuries. After being stabilized, he was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland for further treatment.
Local police organized a search of the area with assistance from Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Maine State Police troopers and Topsham Police officers in an effort to locate any evidence or persons of interest.
Due to the seriousness of the injury, local police summoned the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-South.
Detectives from that unit worked with local police into the late evening completing witness interviews and working to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding this event, eventually resulting in the arrest of Newton-Fortin who had a juvenile record
He had been involved in 2016 in stealing a bucket loader with a friend after running away from a group home in Litchfield and driving it down the Maine Turnpike after driving it through several towns, leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake.
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