Maine machete attack suspect asks to withdraw plea

Maine machete attack suspect asks to withdraw plea


By The Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine — A 19-year-old Augusta man wants to withdraw his guilty pleas in a vicious machete attack on a father and daughter in their rural Pittston home.

Leo Hylton pleaded guilty in May to three counts of attempted murder and other charges in connection with the May 2008 home invasion and attack on William Guerrette Jr. and his 10-year-old daughter. Hylton's co-defendant has pleaded not guilty.

The Kennebec Journal says Hylton's attorney told Justice Nancy Mills on Tuesday that Hylton didn't have appropriate legal advice or fully understand the charges when he pleaded guilty.

At the time, Hylton was represented by Robert Ruffner. He requested and was granted a different attorney in September.

Not registered? Click here
E-mail this
Print this
Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

Bangordailynews.com is pleased to offer a forum for readers to react to our stories, discuss them and provide additional information. We are reluctant to delete comments, but do reserve that right for those who abuse our forum. For more on using this site, please see our terms of service.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. What does that mean specifically? Here are some guidelines (see more):

Comments
5 comments on this item

There MUST be a ban on machetes!!!

Q: Did you have a machete in your hand on the day in question?

Q: Did you use said machete on the victims?

If the answer to either of these is yes, then "appropriate legal advice or fully understand the charges when he pleaded guilty." are irrelevant. Stupid legal maneuvers.

Too bad the father hadn't woke up early enough to grab his .45 and save the tax payers the burdon of this piece of filth!

Blessings to this poor family.

You mean to tell me this guy is still not in prison or sentenced to death. We have a broken criminal Justice system. Lets try him in Texas...here they have a speed line....and USE IT!!

he did not fully understand the charges, when he pleaded guilty, give me a break at 19 year's old. I totally agree with-ya TurkeyTalker.

You must be logged in to post a comment. click here to log in.

Powered by: Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, Inc.