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Boat's Lighting at Issue in Trial

September 17, 2008 - PORTLAND -- Terry Raye Trott was likely driving his boat at 13 to 25 mph, with its light switch in the "on" position, when it was struck by a larger boat on the night of Aug. 11, 2007, witnesses said Thursday in the manslaughter trial of Robert LaPointe.

Jeremy Judd, a warden and diver with the Maine Warden Service, said the switch was on and Trott's boat, the Sting Raye, was equipped with a rear light stick that appeared to be wired properly to the console.

But another witness repeated the assertion made earlier this week by LaPointe's defense lawyers: that Trott was operating his 14-foot runabout with no lights when LaPointe's 32-foot boat collided with it on Long Lake in Harrison.

Trott, 55, of Harrison, and his girlfriend, Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick, died in the crash. LaPointe and his passenger, Nicole Randall of Bridgton, suffered minor injuries when they were thrown into the water.

"Rob had mentioned a boat had gone by with no lights on," said Mike Ingersoll, a friend who had lunch with LaPointe on the day of the fatal crash and visited LaPointe on the morning after it.

Ingersoll said LaPointe told him that out of the corner of his eye, he saw the same boat with no lights on just a split-second before the crash.

"By the time he saw it, it was too late," Ingersoll testified. "There was no time to react."

The dispute over the boat's lighting, and another dispute over whether LaPointe was intoxicated at the time of the crash, dominated testimony during the third day of the trial in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

LaPointe, 39, of Medway, Mass., faces charges of manslaughter, aggravated drunken driving and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. The two counts of manslaughter each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors have said that LaPointe's blood alcohol content was 0.11 percent three hours after the crash, above Maine's legal limit -- 0.08 percent -- to operate a car or a boat. They also have said that his speed, at least 45 mph, was too fast for night boating.

When they present their case next week, LaPointe's lawyers are expected to introduce evidence to challenge those theories.

Groetzinger's body was found three days after the crash at the bottom of the lake, tangled up with debris and the deck that had been torn from Trott's boat. Divers found the boat's 115-horsepower motor there, and about 90 feet away they found Trott's body.

Judd testified that Trott suffered massive injuries to his buttocks and that his blue jeans were shredded into long strips. Groetzinger was nearly decapitated, he said.

Donald Bayles, an engine repairman and a former Navy engineer, said Trott's boat was likely traveling at 13 to 25 mph, based on his investigation of the throttle arm and other motor components.

After the crash, LaPointe and Randall swam to shore around 9:40 p.m. Three emergency responders had close contact with LaPointe between then and around 11 p.m., when he was taken by ambulance to be checked at Bridgton Hospital.

Emergency medical technician Paul Ratigan walked LaPointe from the shore and testified that he smelled alcohol on the man's breath.

But Rick Strout, a technician who evaluated LaPointe in the ambulance for about 20 minutes, said he did not smell alcohol or detect any other signs of intoxication.

LaPointe declined to go to the hospital initially, and Strout did not object.

"I wouldn't have allowed Mr. LaPointe to sign off and take care of himself if I thought transportation was necessary," Strout said.

Warden Jason Luce, who was the supervising investigator at the site at that point, interviewed LaPointe in the cab of Luce's truck.

"I noticed there was a strong odor of alcoholic beverages coming from his breath," Luce testified.

At some point during their conversation, Luce said, LaPointe began complaining about pain on his left side, and he agreed to go to the hospital. LaPointe's blood was drawn at Luce's request.

Luce testified that he did not initially believe LaPointe's story that his boat had struck something on the lake. Luce thought LaPointe had been "horsing around and operating recklessly."

George Hassett, one of LaPointe's lawyers, took an argumentative tone with Luce during his cross-examination.

Hassett repeatedly asked Luce why he didn't do any type of field sobriety test, despite smelling alcohol. Luce said he didn't want to risk further injury to LaPointe and wanted to get him to the hospital.

Hassett also questioned why Luce did not inform LaPointe that the interview was being recorded, and why he did not secure the site where LaPointe's boat had crashed into the woods. At one point, the court stenographer asked Hassett to lower his voice.

"I apologize for being a little animated," Hassett said.

Jurors heard part of the recorded interview -- the first time they have heard LaPointe's voice. He said he was driving his boat straight up the middle of the lake, at about 45 mph, when he hit something that caused his boat to lurch up, tossing him and Randall into the water.

"You went over something?" Luce asked LaPointe during the interview
.
"Yes," LaPointe said. "Whatever it was came right in front of me.

"I'm telling you, I wasn't horsing around, man. Someone cut in front of us or something was in front of us."

Luce was still on the stand when court adjourned Thursday, and is expected to continue his testimony today.

By TREVOR MAXWELL, Staff Writer, POrtland Press Herald, September 12, 2008


Lakes: Long Lake
Regions: Sebago


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