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DA Seeks Four-Year Sentence for Convicted Boater

November 12, 2008 - PORTLAND -- District Attorney Stephanie Anderson wants Robert LaPointe to be given four years in prison for operating his speedboat while drunk during a collision that left two people dead last year, according to a letter to the court filed in advance of today's sentencing.

LaPointe, who was convicted Sept. 29 of two counts of aggravated operating under the influence, is scheduled to be sentenced today in Cumberland County Superior Court.

In his first public statement after the trial, LaPointe wrote a letter to Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley saying that he prays every day for the victims and their families.

"I was home in Massachusetts when it was confirmed that the victims had been recovered," he wrote. "I dropped to my knees and prayed for the victims, your honor. I am sorry."

LaPointe's attorneys argue that their client is unlikely to re-offend and are asking for a suspension of a "significant" portion of the maximum sentence, which they believe falls between two and three years.

Anderson argues that the maximum sentence the judge should consider is five years.

The two sides disagree on the aggravating and mitigating factors and point to different past cases as precedent.

When deciding on a sentence, Crowley will look at similar cases and evaluate what type of message the sentence will send to the public.

LaPointe would have faced a much harsher sentence if the jury had not deadlocked on two counts of manslaughter and one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and instead convicted him of those crimes.

Prosecutors have not determined whether to seek a new trial on the manslaughter charges and are waiting to see what kind of sentence LaPointe receives.

The crash occurred in Harrison on Aug. 11, 2007, as two boats moved across Long Lake about an hour after sunset.

LaPointe's 32-foot cigarette-style boat ran up and over the back of a 14-foot motorboat. Two people, Terry Raye Trott of Harrison, who operated the smaller boat, and his passenger, Suzanne Groetzinger of Berwick, were killed.

Groetzinger died instantly from a propeller strike, and Trott's cause of death was a combination of propeller injury and drowning.

LaPointe and his passenger, 19-year-old Nicole Randall of Bridgton, were ejected from the boat and swam to shore. The boat continued unmanned, hit the shore and slid 166 feet up a wooded slope. Prosecutors said LaPointe had been drinking Bud Light all day and was going at least 45 mph at the time of the collision.

LaPointe wrote in his letter that his entire family came to Maine the next morning to be with him while divers searched for the victims.

"Every time the phone rang or the news came on, I got sick to my stomach," he wrote.

During the trial, the defense minimized LaPointe's responsibility for the accident and pointed out that Trott allegedly failed to have his boat lights on that night.

Several witnesses for the defense said they saw Trott's boat with no lights before the crash. Another witness, a photographer who was at his home on the east shore of the lake, testified that he saw two navigation lights on Trott's boat.

In her sentencing memo, Anderson wrote that LaPointe had a blood alcohol level of between 0.13 percent and 0.18 percent. The legal limit for driving a car or boat in Maine is 0.08 percent.

When imposing the sentence, Anderson wrote, the judge must consider that LaPointe's action resulted in the deaths of two people. She also noted that LaPointe's "thrill-seeking and reckless" driving record includes 23 convictions for speeding and 12 license suspensions.

She said LaPointe failed to show any remorse for the victims during the trial, and that any claims of remorse now must be viewed with "extreme skepticism."

LaPointe's attorneys argue that LaPointe has no prior criminal convictions, has a solid work history, enjoys the support of his family and has accepted responsibility for his actions.

By TOM BELL Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, November 12, 2008


Lakes: Long Lake
Regions: Sebago


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