Augusta man to serve 2 years in prison for assault of woman in vehicle

AUGUSTA — An Augusta man who assaulted a mental health worker while she was giving him a ride home and nearly steered her car into pedestrians and construction workers on the side of the road was sentenced to two years in prison on several charges Thursday.

Christopher M. Good, 56, pleaded no contest to a felony-level charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor-level charges of unlawful sexual touching, assault, terrorizing and obstructing the report of a crime at the Capital Judicial Center. No contest pleas result in a finding of guilty under Maine law.

Following a plea agreement with state prosecutors, Good was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but two of those years suspended, and two years probation. That means if he complies with the terms of his probation, which include that he undergo counseling and have no contact with the victim, he will serve two years in prison, but he could face the full five-year sentence if he does not comply.

Good, a client of the mental health agency Motivational Services, was getting a ride home from the hospital to a Motivational Services housing facility from a 40-year-old woman who works for the agency when he became belligerent with her, a prosecutor said. He was frustrated with the route she was driving and with the radio station playing in the car.

Frayla Tarpinian, deputy district attorney, said he punched her and grabbed her, touching her sexually through her clothing, and also threatened to rape her and make her bleed. As they were passing through a construction area, he grabbed the steering wheel from her and attempted to steer the vehicle off the road.

The reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon charge, a Class C offense, stems from an allegation in his indictment that he recklessly created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the woman, pedestrians and construction workers on Mount Vernon Avenue that day by using an automobile as a dangerous weapon.

The woman was able to stop the car and honk the horn, but when she tried to make a phone call for help he wrestled her phone away.

Multiple construction workers then came to her aid, prompting Good to retreat to the back part of a parking lot, according to Tarpinian.

Good’s lawyer, Andrew Dawson, noted the competency of Good, who is a consumer of mental health community services, was an issue in the case. But he said Good was evaluated and it was determined his competency had been restored and he was deemed competent to proceed in court.

Two additional charges, of theft by unauthorized taking and disorderly conduct, were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Dawson asked that the $300 minimum fine be partially or fully suspended, because Good would not have an ability to pay after he is incarcerated. However Judge Sarah Gilbert declined, citing the state’s recitation of Good’s action in the incident. She did, however, agree to what she said should be a reasonable payment plan, of $25 a month, starting 30 days after his release from the Department of Corrections.