A Bath man will serve four years in prison for assaulting a fellow inmate in the maximum-security unit of Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
Joshua R. Boyd, 20, also received a suspended three-year sentence and two years of probation for assaulting two guards and vandalizing the jail’s sprinkler system in a separate incident.
Boyd pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, aggravated criminal mischief, and two counts of assault on an officer, all felonies; and misdemeanor violating condition of release in Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset June 4, according to court records.
His sentences on the various charges add up to a four-year prison sentence with two years of probation. If he violates probation, he could return to prison for up to three more years. He is currently in custody at the Maine State Prison in Warren.
His probation conditions prohibit the possession or use of alcohol, firearms, or dangerous weapons, and require treatment for batterer’s intervention and substance abuse. He also has to participate in domestic violence court in Sagadahoc County and take certain medications.
The state dismissed misdemeanor charges of refusing to submit to arrest or detention – physical force; and a second count of violating condition of release.
Boyd originally came to Two Bridges Regional Jail on a felony domestic violence assault charge, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright said.
The morning of Dec. 4, 2013, Boyd “stood up, walked over and struck” fellow inmate Joseph M. Solomon II while Solomon’s “back was turned reading a newspaper,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Mercier said in his report.
Boyd “continued to throw roundhouse punches, alternating fists,” Mercier said. Boyd “struck approximately 20 blows” to Solomon’s head.
Solomon “was unable to defend himself and could only block his face to help protect himself,” Mercier said. Jail personnel eventually pulled Boyd off Solomon.
The report does not cite a motive for the attack.
Several months later, Boyd was still an inmate at the jail when, the evening of April 1, he and inmate Brandon L. Knowles, 24, of Orono, vandalized the sprinkler system in the maximum-security unit.
Boyd subsequently began banging on the door and windows to the area, and two guards attempted to enter the area.
Boyd punched the guards “in the head area,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detective Terry Michaud said in his report. Boyd “had to be subdued by being tasered.” The statement identifies the officers as Archer and Temple.
Boyd will serve a concurrent sentence of six months on the Sagadahoc County domestic violence charge, which was reduced to a misdemeanor, Wright said. His probation conditions prohibit contact with the domestic violence victim and Solomon, the victim of the December assault.
He also received a concurrent sentence of 30 days for the violating condition of release charge, and he will have to pay $160 in fines.
Knowles was convicted of aggravated criminal mischief and sentenced to six months for his role in the vandalism.
