A Jefferson man was sentenced Monday, June 12 to four months in jail and four years of probation for aggravated assault, according to court documents.
Wayne T. Little, 27, had pleaded guilty to the class B charge, a felony, May 3. His plea was an Alford guilty plea, similar to a plea of no contest.
District Court Judge Barbara Raimondi sentenced Little to four years in custody with all but four months suspended, plus four years of probation.
Little also pleaded guilty to class C violation of condition of release, another felony, and received a concurrent sentence of 90 days. He started his sentence June 13.
His probation conditions prohibit contact with the victim, prohibit the possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs, and require him to submit to random searches and tests for alcohol. He must complete treatment for psychological and substance-abuse issues.
If Little violates probation, he could return to custody for up to three years and eight months – the suspended portion of his sentence.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew G. Kanwit prosecuted the case.
“A class B aggravated assault conviction is something Mr. Little will carry with him for the rest of his life,” Kanwit said. “It is a major conviction for dangerous conduct. If he is able to follow the conditions of his probation, it is my hope he will be rehabilitated, but if he does not, he will end up serving years of additional prison time.”
The state dismissed three other charges in exchange for Little’s plea: a second count of class B aggravated assault and one count each of class D domestic violence criminal threatening and obstructing report of crime or injury, both misdemeanors.
Little repeatedly assaulted the victim in Jefferson on Feb. 17 and again Feb. 18, according to an affidavit by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Dwight Fowles.
The woman told police that Little choked her until she couldn’t breathe, “punched her in the face and head,” and later “pulled out some of her hair and slammed her head into the floor and into the kitchen cabinets,” according to the affidavit.
“I observed red marks on her face and a small amount of blood around her mouth, swelling to her left eye, and a mark above her right eye,” Fowles said in the affidavit. “I also observed red marks on her neck that would support her claim of strangulation.”
Little fled the scene of the assault. A K-9 unit tracked him for several miles through the woods near the residence and to a road nearby, where investigators believe someone picked him up.
The next day, the sheriff’s office asked the public for assistance with the investigation and indicated that Little might be armed. Little turned himself in to the sheriff’s office without incident Feb. 21.
Little was arrested again May 1 for contact with the victim in violation of his bail conditions, leading to the felony conviction for violation of condition of release.
Little lists an address in Nobleboro in recent court filings.
Newcastle-based attorney William M. Avantaggio represented Little.
