AUBURN — A South Paris man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend’s estranged husband at a barbershop in downtown Lewiston last December.
Michael Barrucci, 24, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault in an Alford plea, believing a jury could convict him of the crime. He did not admit to the actions alleged in the case as outlined by the prosecutor.
An Androscoggin County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 10 years, but suspended six years of that sentence. He will be on probation for four years after his release from prison.
Charges of attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and a second charge of aggravated assault were dismissed by prosecutors.
Barrucci was facing a maximum sentence of 30 years on each of the counts of attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault, if convicted.
When police responded to the scene of Major Cuts barbershop on Chestnut Street on Dec. 6, 2017, they found Rashad Robinson, 36, lying on his back at the entrance to the barbershop, a large laceration in his chest and a large pool of blood near his abdomen, according to court papers.
Inside the shop, Barrucci, covered in blood, stood holding a brown folding knife. He was ordered to drop it, which he did, police said in court papers.
A hospital nurse detailed Robinson’s stab wounds to include two to his back, one across his chest, one in his stomach area and one under each armpit. One of the latter struck an artery. Also during the fight, his spleen and diaphragm were damaged, according to court papers.
Robinson told police he had been getting a haircut shortly before the close of the shop that day. He said his wife had “set me up” because she entered the shop with Barrucci while Robinson was in the barber’s chair and had known that he would be there at that time. She later disputed that assertion.
A barber told police that Robinson had gotten out of his chair and had approached Barrucci and Robinson’s estranged wife when they entered the shop. The two men were standing when they started fighting but ended up on the floor, according to witnesses interviewed by police.
When police arrived, Barrucci was shouting into his cellphone: “I was trying to kill the f—–,” according to court papers.
Barrucci’s attorney, Adam Sherman, told a judge at an earlier hearing that his client was attacked by Robinson and had been defending himself that day. He said their meeting had been a “chance” encounter.
When Barrucci is freed from prison, he must undergo mental evaluation, counseling and treatment, have no contact with Robinson and not have any dangerous weapons while on probation.
cwilliams@sunjournal.com
Michael Barrucci (Androscoggin County Jail photo)
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