AUBURN — Scott Dumont of Sabattus pleaded guilty Friday to discharging a firearm near a dwelling nearly two years ago and paid a $100 fine.
He had been facing up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A felony charge of reckless conduct and two misdemeanor charges of terrorizing were dismissed in exchange for his plea.
In April, Dumont, 42, was indicted on four criminal charges after he fired his gun at his home on Muffin Drive near the Maine Turnpike and within 100 yards of a nearby residence in November 2011. He did not have permission from the nearby homeowner to fire.
According to Assistant District Attorney Lisa Bogue, had the case gone to trial, Sabattus police Lt. Matthew Prince had been prepared to testify that he responded to a report of shots fired on Nov. 5, 2011, and calls that a man was shooting a gun very close to the residence of Robert Goulet.
According to Bogue, when Prince went to Dumont’s house, he saw a number of spent shells on the floor inside the home and when the officer asked Dumont to take his hands out of his pockets, several more spent shell casings fell from his pockets.
Prince had asked Dumont to produce a hunting license, and Dumont showed him a moose permit issued that year.
Dumont pleaded guilty to shooting too close to a dwelling by Alford plea, which allows him to proclaim his innocence while also acknowledging that if the case went to trial prosecutors have enough evidence to convince a jury of his guilt.
A charge that he recklessly created risk to drivers on the Turnpike and pedestrians in the Muffin Drive area by firing his gun was dismissed, as were two charges of terrorizing — including threatening to kill — Sabattus police officers Deputy Jason Boulanger and Prince.
After Dumont entered his plea, defense attorney Adam Sherman told the court that his client was bothered by the fact that not all of his arrest was recorded by a camera mounted in a Sabattus cruiser, and that the tape “cut off” after he was shot with a taser, moments into the arrest.
Sherman said his client told him he was shot with a taser five times and that he suffered broken ribs during his arrest.
Active-Retired Justice Carl O. Bradford asked Dumont whether he wanted to address the court, and Dumont expressed additional concern about what he believed to be a missing portion of police videotape.
Dumont, who had been standing while entering his plea, then asked Bradford if he could sit down because he had recently suffered a back injury that made it painful to stand.
After the hearing, Sherman said the plea was “a good outcome” for Dumont, who “vigorously asserts his innocence” and who is considering filing a notice of civil claim against the Sabattus Police Department and various officers for injuries suffered during his arrest.
No notice has been filed with the Androscoggin County Superior Court.
jmeyer@sunjournal.com
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