A Portland man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for kidnapping a Rockland woman as she walked home from work in September.

Shane Hall pleaded guilty to kidnapping, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, eluding an officer and driving to endanger during a hearing in Knox County Unified Court.

Justice Bruce Mallonnee sentenced Hall, 29, to 30 years in prison with all but 15 years suspended. Hall will be on probation for six years after his release. He will also be required to pay $697 in restitution for the victim’s medical bills.

His victim spoke during the hearing about how the crime had affected her.

She said she has had nightmares and has not had a good night sleep since the Sept. 28 attack. She has returned to work full-time but is paranoid about walking alone and meeting strangers, which she said makes her customer service work more difficult.

In an interview after the attack, the woman said she was walking home when she heard a vehicle door open and close, and saw a man in a ski mask coming at her. He grabbed her and tried to pull her into the vehicle but she fought him.

Advertisement

She said she head-butted him once and got loose, but he grabbed her again. She then bit him on the hand.

He told her not to scream, she said. The woman said she did scream, but no one was nearby.

The man then punched her in the face five or six times before putting his arm around her throat and squeezing until she lost consciousness. She awoke in the passenger seat of his Nissan Rogue sports utility vehicle. She said he told her he would kill her if she didn’t stop trying to escape. He started driving, but she almost immediately saw the blue lights of a police cruiser.

The victim was rescued after a Rockland police officer spotted the vehicle parked oddly along Main Street. Three Rockland officers were honored this week for their response to the attack.

Sgt. Matthew Lindahl, who was on patrol that night, said he noticed Hall’s vehicle parked in an odd way and saw it start to drive off in reverse.

Lindahl pursued the car, which was driving erratically. It went through some stop signs and eventually crashed, ending up on its passenger side on Pleasant Street.

Advertisement

Hall ran from the crash, but was tackled by officers.

Wednesday’s plea followed a settlement conference Tuesday between Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody, defense attorney Jeremy Pratt and Justice Mallonnee.

Hall could have received a maximum sentence for kidnapping of 30 years in prison. He has been held in lieu of $250,000 cash bail since his arrest. The plea came before the case was presented to a grand jury.

Hall did not speak during the hearing other than to acknowledge his rights and plead guilty. He has not spoken to authorities since his arrest.

Hall was convicted in 2009 on theft and assault charges, and was sentenced to serve six months in jail.

He received an additional four days in jail for a theft in 2008. In 2010, he received a 48-hour jail sentence for carrying a concealed weapon. In 2011, he was sentenced to nine months in jail for burglary and theft. The following year, he served seven days for theft.

In 2013, he was sentenced to three years in prison for an aggravated assault in Portland in May 2012. He and another man, Troy J. Woodman, 34, of Warren, also face charges concerning the theft of 19 crates of lobsters from a dealer in Harpswell and South Bristol in September and October.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.