AUGUSTA — A Gardiner man was cleared of two criminal charges and convicted of a third charge — criminal mischief for breaking a pane of glass — Monday at the close of a jury trial at the Capital Judicial Center.

Thurlow Warner Mason, 33, was found not guilty of domestic violence criminal threatening and criminal operating under the influence.

All the charges stemmed from an incident that occurred May 29 in Augusta.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated less than 30 minutes before returning the verdict.

For the criminal mischief conviction, Justice Lance Walker sentenced Mason to five days in jail and gave him credit for the five days he had already served.

In his closing argument, Mason’s attorney, Andrew Dawson, said the victim named in the domestic violence charge was not afraid of being hurt.

“She just didn’t want her son to see his dad like this,” Dawson told jurors. “She just wanted to get rid of the drunk guy on her porch.”

Dawson also told jurors that another man testified he drove Mason to the woman’s residence even though Mason told police, “Yeah, I drove up here,” on a video played for jurors.

Dawson said the glass pane broke as Mason continued to knock on the door. The woman had already left the residence.

The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh, told jurors not to rely on Mason’s testimony.

“He scared her out of her own home and he was too drunk to drive,” Cavanaugh said in his closing.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

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