FARMINGTON – Two men pleaded guilty to felony assault and aggravated criminal mischief today in Franklin County Superior Court, for their roles in criminal activity that resulted in the burning of an ATV and the assault of a Livermore man.
Zebbie Thomas, 18, of Jay, pleaded guilty to felony assault and aggravated criminal mischief, both Class C felonies. Jesse Coffin, 21, of Kingfield, pleaded no contest to those same charges, which is treated as a conviction for the purposes of sentencing. Police believe a third man, Zachary Haines, 19, of Farmington, was also involved. His case is set for trial in June.
According to evidence the assistant district attorneys say would have been presented at trial, on Aug. 12, 2010, Thomas met the named victim in the case and had him drive up to Farmington to pick up Haines and Coffin. At this point, the victim told police, the three men ordered him to drive them around.
“If he did not drive them where they wanted to go,” Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said, “they would beat him.”
Eventually, police say, the three were driven to the trail head of the Whistle Stop Trail in West Farmington, where they recovered a three-wheeled ATV from the woods. The ATV had been stolen earlier from its owner in Jay, by a man named Jefferie Smith, 19, of Livermore Falls. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft last week, receiving a seven-day jail sentence.
Paper was stuffed into the ATV’s gas tank and lit, starting a fire which destroyed the vehicle. Thomas, Coffin and Haines had the alleged victim drive them to the Cumberland Farms convenience store. The state says that a security camera recorded their presence, and the driver told police they said they’d stolen alcohol.
At 2:15 a.m., on Aug. 13, the driver said he was assaulted by all three men in the municipal parking lot behind Tranten’s. The man said he eventually recovered enough to drive to Franklin Memorial Hospital, where police were called.
Coffin and Thomas were both found to be guilty of felony assault as a result of that attack. Thomas admitted that brass knuckles were used by another individual in the attack, elevating his own assault charge to a Class C felony under Maine’s accomplice liability law. Coffin, however, denied using brass knuckles to strike the victim, saying he disagreed with evidence summarized by the state.
“I hit him with an elbow and punched him twice,” Coffin said. He went on to state he’d taken a medication and drank “four or five” 40-ounce beers and couldn’t remember anything.
Justice Michaela Murphy said she could not accept the plea under those conditions. After a recess, the state filed a new complaint, replacing any mention of brass knuckles with language which stated Coffin had prior convictions for criminal threatening and terrorizing, which raised the assault charge to a Class C crime. Coffin pleaded no contest to that charge.
Thomas was sentenced to 90 days in jail in a separate, criminal mischief, in which he threw a rock through a window in Jay. As part of the arranged pleas, Thomas will be on a 2-year deferred disposition agreement on the felony assault and aggravated criminal mischief charges. If he complies with no contact provisions and refrains from criminal activity, he will be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas in two years, pleading instead to misdemeanors. He must all pay restitution to the homeowner whose window was broken and the owner of the ATV.
Coffin was sentenced to 9 months and one day, as part of a partially-suspended, 3-year prison sentence. He will face two years of probation upon his release, and owe restitution to the ATV’s owner. Andrews said Coffin’s criminal history, which he described as “extensive,” played a role in the state’s sentencing recommendation.
Charges of arson, aggravated assault and other misdemeanors were dismissed as part of the plea arrangement with both men.
Haines remains on the trial list for June.
