LEWISTON, Maine — A Maine teenager accused of hitting a man in the head with ice chopper so hard that the wooden handle broke has reached a plea agreement.
A District Court judge on Friday ordered the case transferred to Androscoggin County Superior Court, where Luke Blair is expected to plead guilty to elevated aggravated assault in the coming week. Blair, of Lewiston, was originally charged with attempted murder.
Blair is accused of attacking a man on June 9 in what police described as a random robbery. Police say the ice chopper, a long pole with a rigid section of metal at the end that’s used to break up ice, was swung so hard that its blade became embedded in the victim’s head.
The victim, who spent two weeks in a coma, was in court on Friday. He called Blair a “coward” as the teenager was led from the courtroom.