Ruth Anne Bryant, the President of the Miles Memorial Hospital League, faces charges of assault and witness tampering, a Class C felony, after a June 24 incident in District Court.
Bryant, 68, of Damariscotta, allegedly attempted to stop Patricia Seelye-Sarver, a volunteer at the Miles Memorial Hospital League (MMHL) thrift shop, from testifying in the case of Evan Strusinski, despite the fact that Seelye-Sarver was under subpoena.
According to Chief Steven Drake of the Damariscotta Police Department, Seelye-Sarver told police that Bryant came to court on the date Seelye-Sarver was scheduled to testify. Bryant, upon discovering Strusinki’s theft charges had been dropped, approached Seelye-Sarver outside the courtroom.
According to statements by Seelye-Sarver included in Drake’s report, “…when [Bryant] left the courtroom she put her hand on Ms. Sarver’s shoulder and pinched her and said in a threatening tone that it did not work honey.”
According to Drake’s report, Chastity Krah-Hagar, a Victim Witness Advocate employed by the District Attorney’s office, saw the incident take place and “observed that Ms. Sarver became visible [sic] upset.”
“I asked [Krah-Hagar] if she saw Ms. Bryant put her hand on Ms. Sarver’s shoulder and she stated that she did not because the angle was wrong,” Drake wrote.
According to the report, Seelye-Sarver came to the Damariscotta Police Department on the afternoon of June 28 “to report that she had been assaulted, harassed and discouraged from attending Court… Ms. Seelye-Sarver stated that a Ruth Anne Bryant did not like it that she reported the theft to the police and felt that it was not good publicity.”
In a July 19 phone interview, Bryant said the Maine Health Care legal department in Portland is handling the case. “I won’t be discussing this with anybody,” she said.
A woman answering the phone at the thrift shop on Monday afternoon, July 19, said the manager was not present and no one else could answer questions.
A representative of the District Attorney’s office said attorneys could not comment on the case.
Miles Memorial Hospital CEO Jim Donovan defended Bryant in a July 19 phone interview. “What we really have here is a misunderstanding,” Donovan said.
Donovan said Bryant’s actions reflected, “a misunderstanding on her part of how the legal system works,” but added that Bryant was “trying to do what she thought was best for her organization and for the hospital.”
“I’m sure this is going to get worked out and hopefully soon,” he said.
Miles Memorial Hospital does not directly oversee MMHL operations, Donovan said. “The league is a separate organization that exists to support the hospital through fundraising efforts and Ruth Anne has been the President of that organization for several years,” he explained.
Seelye-Sarver offered a different account in a July 19 interview at the offices of The Lincoln County News. “I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong,” Seelye-Sarver said. “All I did was report a crime.”
“I thought I was protecting the community’s generous donations,” she said. “I don’t understand not prosecuting anybody that commits a crime.”
Seelye-Sarver said she now understands that MMHL has a policy that forbids the reporting of shoplifters. At the time of the theft, however, she said she was not aware of the policy.
The manager of the thrift shop, Joy Walker, was not aware of the policy either, Seelye-Sarver said. “[Walker] actually handed me her phone,” Seelye-Sarver said, to report the theft.
Seelye-Sarver said that, in addition to her volunteer work, she is also a part-time employee of MMHL. “I take care of their donation and information line,” she said.
“In April I was made manager of the downstairs rummage sale area,” Seelye-Sarver said. Since October 2009, she put in over 1,000 volunteer hours, she said.
According to District Court records, Strusinski stole vinyl records from the thrift shop on April 14. During the theft, Strusinski “looked at me, laughed and sped off down the road,” Seelye-Sarver said.
On the morning of June 24, Seelye-Sarver got a phone call from the manager of the thrift shop, Joy Walker. Walker, relaying a message from the MMHL Board of Directors, told Seelye-Sarver “it was in my best interest if I didn’t [attend court],” Seelye-Sarver said.
Walker did not return a message left at her home.
Since the incident in District Court, the thrift shop no longer makes accommodations for Seelye-Sarver, she said. “I was told it would be best if I didn’t come volunteer at the Wheeler building anymore,” she said. “The locks have been changed. I wasn’t given new keys and I was told I’m no longer a manager.”
Seelye-Sarver said she would continue to show up for work until she’s told she can’t.
Citing the pending charges, Seelye-Sarver declined to discuss the incident at District Court.
On Tuesday, July 20, Seelye-Sarver gave a handwritten statement to The Lincoln County News responding to Donovan’s characterization of the charges as a “misunderstanding.”
“Ruth Ann Bryant has worked tirelessly and done wonderful things in conjunction with Miles Hospital League for this community and [other] communities as well. As an example she recently organized the delivery of leftover goods from MMHL’s last mini rummage sale to the less fortunate people in the economically devastated Lubec area.
“In this case, there is no misunderstanding here. I believe Ruth Anne initially had the best interests of MMHL in mind, but in this situation things escalated into the use of intimidation and threats as a means to an end,” Seelye-Sarver wrote.
