AUGUSTA — A 33-year-old city man freed on unsecured bail on Friday ended up back at the Kennebec County jail on Sunday facing new charges, including one of violating conditions of release, and threatening a woman with a knife.
Leo R. Coutu had an initial court appearance Tuesday at the Capital Judicial Center via video from the jail.
This time, a judge held him without bail on the motion to revoke bail, and set bail at $5,000 cash on the new charges, and prohibited Coutu from contact with the woman named as the victim, her family and another man.
The new charges include domestic violence terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, violating condition of release, and criminal mischief for allegedly damaging a vehicle’s tires, window and mirror, all stemming from an incident on Sunday in Augusta. One of the complaints says Coutu threatened to murder a woman.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Alisa Ross, initially asked Judge Evert Fowle to set $10,000 cash bail on the new charges.
“Mr. Coutu was seen in custody on Feb. 16 and released on unsecured bail; just four days later he’s back before court,” she said.
Ross later asked for Coutu to be held without bail on the new charges. She recited a list of Coutu’s previous criminal convictions, including ones for assault, aggravated assault, burglary and theft of a firearm.
He had been arrested Feb. 15 on a charge of theft from Kohl’s department store in Augusta. Coutu had been released on $1,000 unsecured bail and prohibited from being at Kohl’s.
Attorney Lisa Whittier, representing Coutu as lawyer of the day on Tuesday, told the judge, “This is a case where Mr. Coutu denies the allegations in the new criminal complaint.”
She requested Coutu’s bail be set at $1,000 cash with a Maine Pretrial Services contract. She said he had not failed to appear for any prior court hearings and that she did not believe he posed a danger to the public.
Fowle set Coutu’s next court hearing for Feb. 27 told him to fill out an application for a court-appointed attorney immediately to ensure his lawyer was prepared for that date.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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