AUGUSTA — Stephen Gould of Hallowell won praise for his success in veterans court on Monday as he completed a year in the program and graduated.

Gould, 31, was living in Veazie in April 2012 when he was charged with terrorizing and criminal mischief complaints.

In Kennebec County Superior Court on Monday, he withdrew his guilty plea to the terrorizing complaint and then was sentenced to a fully suspended six-month jail term and a year on administrative release on a related criminal mischief charge.

But the sentence marks a new stage for Gould, who now moves to an aftercare phase.

Gould said little, but told the judge in a written statement submitted earlier that he realizes he will be all right.

“I don’t recall being this happy and content with my life since I was 6 years old,” Justice Nancy Mills read from his statement.

Gould entered the veterans court — which currently has between 15 and 18 defendants — about a year ago and moved to Hallowell so he could meet the strict reporting requirements.

“The difference between Stephen then and today is night and day,” said his attorney, Eugene M. Sullivan Jr., after the hearing. “He has a job and his life in order.”

Mills, who presides over the Co-Occurring Disorders and Veterans courts in Augusta, praised Gould for his work ethic.

“You’ve been a good thing for this program,” she told him during the hearing.

Gould received congratulations from a number of other support personnel in the court program, including people from the VA Maine Healthcare Systems-Togus, for his work on a community service project in Hallowell and for his commitment to his young son.

Assistant District Attorney David Spencer said the victims in the case all supported the resolution.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

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