AUGUSTA — The criminal complaint filed Thursday against an Augusta man arrested after a violent altercation at the Augusta Walmart charges Robert Potter with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

The complaint specifies that Potter, 31, was convicted in January 2016 in Auburn Superior Court of committing domestic violence assault, which barred him from owning a firearm.

Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Thursday that Potter remains in Riverview Psychiatric Center for evaluation.

Potter was taken into custody by Augusta police Monday night after a violent altercation in Walmart during which a gun was fired. On Tuesday, in a news release, Augusta Deputy Chief Jared Mills said Potter initially was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center and was hospitalized at an undisclosed location.

At the same time, a woman, who remains unidentified, apparently saw the confrontation and ran to her car in the parking lot. She suffered a medical event and despite efforts to help her, she died at the scene.

That death is being treated as a separate incident.

Advertisement

The incident began when an Augusta man told Potter his boot lace was untied.

Kevin Roberge said in an interview with the Kennebec Journal that he had noticed a man’s boot lace was untied and let him know it. That’s when the man started following him from the checkout area across to the Dunkin’ Donuts counter, where Roberge had planned to wait for a cab to take him home. He said the man, whose name he didn’t know at the time, grabbed his arm and shouted for Roberge to get on the ground.

Instead, Roberge said he grabbed the barrel of the gun to keep it from being pointed at him, and he struggled with Potter until police arrived. During the struggle, a shot was fired.

Roberge said it appeared Potter “wasn’t together, mentally,” and that when he was in police custody, he shouted out his name and rank.

On Thursday, the U.S. Army confirmed that Potter had served from May 2008 to November 2012, with two deployments in Iraq. During his service, Potter earned awards including the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star.

While Potter specifically was banned from carrying a firearm because of his conviction on a domestic violence assault charge, he did not run afoul of Walmart policies by carrying it in the store.

Advertisement

Walmart spokesman Charles Crowson said the company’s stores comply with all federal, state and local laws about carrying concealed weapons, and there is no prohibition at the Augusta Walmart store against carrying them.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ


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.

filed under: