AUGUSTA — A Benton man who showed up two hours late for his sentencing Thursday on domestic violence charges tried to withdraw his guilty pleas, fire his lawyer and delay his case.

“I haven’t had proper guidance, I haven’t had anything, I’ve barely had contact with him,” Christopher S. Groves said of attorney James Langworthy, whom he met with briefly in a conference room before his hearing at the Capital Judicial Center. “I feel forced into this, he knew I was skeptical of it. We haven’t had any contact. I felt forced into the initial plea.”

Chief District Judge Brent Davis rejected those requests and sentenced him to seven months behind bars, nearly a year after rejecting a plea deal that would allow Groves to serve three months on those same charges.

In May and June 2023, Groves, 29, threatened to slit a woman’s throat and run her over with a vehicle and kill her, prosecutors said.

A year later, Davis rejected a plea deal reached between prosecutors and Groves’ attorney after the victim complained in court that the 90 days he would have served was not a severe enough punishment for what he did to her.

After meeting with Langworthy at that time, Groves was allowed to withdraw his previous pleas of no contest to the charges.

Since then, Groves pleaded guilty in a new plea deal to two counts of domestic violence criminal threatening and one count each of domestic violence assault and violating condition of release. Another count of domestic violence criminal threatening was dismissed, as were two other counts of violating condition of release, and a single count of theft by unauthorized taking.

Prosecutor Jake Demosthenes, an assistant district attorney in Kennebec County, said under the new plea deal, Groves and Langworthy had agreed to a sentence of three years in prison, with all but seven months suspended, and two years of probation.

That would mean he’ll serve seven months in prison if he complies with the terms of his probation but could spend up to the entire three-year sentence in prison if he violates his probation.

Groves on Thursday sought to withdraw his guilty pleas to all charges, asked that Langworthy, who was appointed to represent him, withdraw from the case, and that his case be continued.

Davis declined Groves’ requests, over Groves’ vocal objections and insistence he had not been given good legal advice and he had a right to a new lawyer.

“I appreciate that, sir,” Davis replied. “Your request (for Langworthy) to withdraw is denied.”

As a court officer grabbed Groves by the arm and escorted him over to the corner of the courtroom, where defendants are placed in custody by jail officials, Groves continued to object, saying, “I don’t see how that’s even legal, because I have a right to a new lawyer.”

The victim, a woman who argued that Groves’ previous sentence was not long enough to give her justice for what she described as torture, thanked Davis and prosecutors “for bringing me the justice I need.”

“This has been an ongoing thing, I’m in extensive counseling because of this,” she said in court Thursday. “Thank you and everybody on the team. Now, from this day, I can breathe a fresh breath of relief, because he’s behind bars and can’t touch me.”

The newspaper does not identify victims of domestic violence without their consent.

The previous plea deal would have sentenced Groves to three years imprisonment with all but three months of that time suspended, and two years of probation. He could have faced the full three-year sentence if he violated probation.

Prosecutor Shannon Flaherty, an assistant district attorney, said previously the victim told police that Groves threatened in May 2023 in Benton to slit her throat if she tried to leave and later threatened to run her over with a vehicle and kill her. She said he threw her during an argument, which a Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office investigator said left a bump on her head.

In June 2023, Groves again threatened to run the woman over at the Cumberland Farms store in Fairfield, while he was on bail with conditions including that he not have contact with her.