WATERVILLE — The Kennebec County district attorney will not press a civil case against Gary Cross, the suicidal man who sparked a standoff with police in front of the Waterville Police Department in December.
District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Cross, of Troy, had provided proof that he was receiving counseling, and in exchange she had dropped the charge of creating a police standoff filed against him after the eight-hour Dec. 7 standoff. The civil charge carries a $250 fine, but Cross might have been required to pay up to $12,000 restitution for the cost of the emergency response if he had been convicted.
“I did not file a case against him,” Maloney said. “He did bring in proof of counseling, so that is not going forward, and I wish him all the best.”
Cross had been scheduled for a Tuesday court date in Waterville District Court, but Maloney last month said she would not charge him if he proved he was seeking mental health counseling.
The Dec. 7 standoff started when Cross, 58, parked his pickup truck at the Waterville Police Department about 6 p.m. and said he was going to kill himself with a loaded firearm. Cross later said that he was overwhelmed with a failing financial situation when he decided to kill himself. He said he picked the spot about 25 miles from his home in Troy so his family wouldn’t have to drive continually by the spot where he killed himself and because he thought trained officers could handle the aftermath of the suicide.
Multiple law enforcement agencies went to the scene, and Maine State Police negotiators spent several hours trying to get Cross to talk, then several more before he eventually surrendered shortly before 3 a.m. Dec. 8.
During the standoff, authorities closed off nearby areas and roads near downtown Waterville, closed businesses that were nearby and locked down the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter.
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