The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Tape of 911 Call Barred in Boat Crash Trial

September 10, 2008 - PORTLAND -- The jury in the upcoming manslaughter trial of Robert LaPointe will not hear an emergency 911 tape recorded moments after a fatal boat crash last summer, Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley ruled this week.

Crowley agreed with defense lawyers that the recording would be unfairly prejudicial against LaPointe. The judge also agreed that prosecutors will not be allowed to mention the fact that LaPointe twice refused to give a blood sample after the crash, until he was forced to do so by a game warden. Because LaPointe did ultimately submit blood and the results of that test will be allowed at trial, his refusal cannot be used against him, Crowley ruled.

The last-minute rulings, made available to the public Friday, came as prosecutors and the defense team made final pr eparations for the trial.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning at Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

LaPointe, 39, of Medway, Mass., faces manslaughter and other charges stemming from the boat crash on Long Lake in Harrison on Aug. 11, 2007.

District Attorney Stephanie Anderson has said LaPointe was legally drunk and driving too fast at night when his 32-foot Sunsation Dominator ran over a 14-foot boat. Terry Raye Trott of Naples and Suzanne Groetzinger of Berwick were killed.

LaPointe and his passenger, Nicole Randall of Bridgton, were thrown into the water and LaPointe's boat continued across the lake, ending up about 150 feet into the woods on the sloped eastern shore.

"In an ideal world, we will start presenting our case on Tuesday morning," Anderson said Friday. She said the trial will likely last two weeks. She declined to comment on the number of witnesses the state intends to call.

On Monday, Crowley also is expected to rule on the defense's motion to delay the trial or move it out of Cumberland County. LaPointe's attorneys say media coverage of the crash and the ensuing criminal and civil cases have created a "climate of hostility" toward their client. Crowley said he will be able to gauge the impact of publicity when potential jurors are screened.

According to court documents, a woman at a camp on Long Lake called 911 at 9:07 p.m. on Aug. 11, 2007.

"There has been a terrible boat accident! You've got to send help. There has to be injuries," the woman told an emergency dispatcher. "Oh my God! It's up in the woods it's a big speedboat up in the woods I hope you are sending an ambulance."

LaPointe's attorneys argued that the tape would serve no purpose other than to inflame the jury, and that the caller would have a chance to testify in court about what she saw. Anderson argued for the tape to be allowed.

On the issue of LaPointe's refusal to submit to a blood test, Anderson said that fact should be allowed in her presentation, to help establish LaPointe's state of mind in the hours after the crash. Crowley, however, ruled for the defense on both motions.

Anderson declined to comment on the significance of the rulings, although they appear to be minor in light of the evidence expected to be introduced at the trial.

A state chemist will testify that LaPointe's blood alcohol level was 0.11 percent three hours after the crash, and could have been as high as 0.15 percent at the time of impact – nearly twice the legal limit to operate a boat or car in Maine. Experts for the defense are expected to testify that the state's methodology was wrong, and that LaPointe's blood alcohol level was not above the legal limit when the crash occurred.

By TREVOR MAXWELL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, September 6, 2008


Lakes: Long Lake
Regions: Sebago


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News