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Jury Adjourns for Night in Manslaughter Case

September 24, 2008 - PORTLAND -- After three and a half hours of deliberations, the jury in the manslaughter trial of Robert LaPointe has adjourned for the night.

The jury will return at 9 a.m. Tuesday to resume deliberations at Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

Justice Robert Crowley reminded the seven women and five men to avoid any publicity surrounding the case, and to not discuss the trial at home.

District Attorney Stephanie Anderson and defense lawyer George Hassett presented their closing arguments to the jury on Monday morning.

Jurors sent a few notes to court officials during their deliberations, requesting an easel and a transcription of part of the jury instructions.

12:05 p.m.:
The jurors will begin deliberations in the Robert LaPointe manslaughter trial after taking lunch this afternoon.

Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley gave the jury final instructions in the case before court went into recess.

Crowley said there is no timetable for jurors to return verdicts on the five charges against LaPointe: two counts of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated drunk driving and one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. Crowley also said the jury, if necessary, could deliberate beyond the normal court closing time of 4:30 p.m., or they could decide to recess for the night at some point.

To convict LaPointe, the jurors must believe the state proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, meaning that the charges are almost certainly true, Crowley said.

11:22 a.m.:
Jurors heard closing arguments this morning in the boating manslaughter trial of Robert LaPointe at Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

LaPointe is charged in the death of Terry Raye Trott, 55, and Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, on Long Lake after his boat collided with the boat they were riding in the night of Aug. 11, 2007. Prosecutors say his blood alcohol content far exceeded the legal limit for operating a boat.

"It really only boils down to two questions that you have to decide," Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson told jurors during closing arguments. "Was the defendant reckless and was he over the limit?"

LaPointe, 39, of Medway, Mass., is charged with manslaughter, aggravated drunken driving and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. He was operating his 32-foot boat, named No Patience, when it ran over a Trott's 14-foot motorboat on Long Lake in Harrison, authorities say.

A blood test showed LaPointe's blood alcohol content was 0.11 three hours after the crash and the legal limit to operate a boat is 0.08.

Anderson pressed home the state's case during closing arguments this morning.

"Can there be any conclusion other than that the defendant was reckless, obscenely reckless," she said. "Can there be anything more lethal than No Patience in the hands of Robert LaPointe on the night of Aug. 11?"

"He took a gamble. He had no right to assume that he could drive up there at 60 mph and nobody would be in his way," she said.

George Hassett, one of LaPointe's attorneys, told jurors they need to look at what actually happened that precipitated the crash.

"That boat was out there with no lights," he said of Trott's boat.

"This isn't about blaming the victim. It just isn't," he said. "It's 'Look at the facts.' "

Hassett said Trott had a responsibility to avoid the oncoming boat.

The two counts of manslaughter, the most serious charges, each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

By TREVOR MAXWELL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, September 22, 2008


Lakes: Long Lake
Regions: Sebago


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