WINTERPORT, Maine — A dispute over a missing title to a vehicle sparked a fracas this week in Winterport, landing one man in jail on a charge of aggravated assault.
The trouble began after Deborah Degiovanni, 58, of Belfast purchased a vehicle from a Winterport man who had lost the original title, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Trafton of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office.
She called police Tuesday morning to complain about the missing title, but was told that it was a civil and not a police matter, Trafton said Wednesday.
So Degiovanni apparently decided to take matters into her own hands, rustling up two companions for a trip to the seller’s home on Main Street in Winterport.
According to the police report, the man was sleeping when Degiovanni allegedly entered his home around 11:30 a.m.
“He said he was awoken by his bedroom door being knocked in,” Trafton said.
Degiovanni entered his bedroom yelling about the missing title, the man later told police. He said that she had a boxcutter-type knife in her hand.
The man tried to explain to her that he was applying for a new title, which takes some time, Trafton said.
The man even borrowed the cellphone of one of the woman’s traveling companions to call the secretary of state’s office to get proof that he had asked for a duplicate title.
“It sounds like he tried to help them,” Trafton said.
However, his efforts apparently did not defuse the tense situation and the Winterport man eventually fled to a neighbor’s house to call police.
According to the police report, Degiovanni followed him and started hitting him.
“He didn’t know if she still had the knife,” Trafton said.
The man tried to get Degiovanni off him and she ended up falling off the porch. One of her companions, Matteo Adragna, 53, also of Belfast, went to her rescue.
“He hit [the Winterport man] over the head with a metal pot cover,” Trafton said.
It left a bloody cut on his head, which police officers saw when they arrived. The man refused medical treatment. However, Degiovanni said that she had hurt herself in the fall off the porch, and was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor by Winterport Ambulance.
“The deputy described her as being confrontational,” Trafton said.
Degiovanni denied having a knife but gave Deputy Darrin Moody permission to search her vehicle. He did find a box cutter, Trafton said.
Adragna was arrested for aggravated assault. He remained Wednesday in police custody at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, with bail set at $750 cash.
After Degiovanni was released from the hospital, she was issued criminal citations for burglary, criminal mischief and assault.
Although she told police she never hit the Winterport man and that he in fact attacked her, Trafton disagreed.
“We have witnesses who saw her screaming at him and saw him bleeding,” he said.
Beans of Egypt Maine?
sounds like the female needed to be arrested.
Sassy the man was the size of an amazon degiovanni is 59 years old and 110 lbs. what things sound like and what the facts are would shock everyone!
How big is an Amazon…???????
According to myth, Amazons were strong and aggressive, but normal-sized, women. I think Mr./Ms. Unique needs to look for a better metaphor.
Assault is assault. Size doesn’t matter. And…anyone can hurt another with a boxcutter!
I’m sorry but going into someones house and kicking in the bedroom door is just not right. Her and her two “companions” are lucky they weren’t met with a baseball bat or a gun. She was told it was a civil matter by the police and didn’t like that answer so she decided to take the law into her own hands. You just can’t do that.
Ya can’t fix stupid..should’nt buy the car without all paperwork..cant bust into someones home and threaten them..and ya..lucky he didnt have a weapon to defend himself…58 yrs old, acting like a child..hope it was worth for her pal to go to jail..$750 fine, he should make her pay
(that will be another fight lol)
Deborah DeGiovanni was not confrontational…she was in a neck brace in an ambulance suffering from what appeared to be a concussion while deputy Moody was insisting she did not have a valid drivers license….Degiovanni pleaded with him to believe there was some mistake but moody was more concerned about proving she was a liar…Well guess what??? yeah he made a mistake Degiovanni had a valid license.
DeGiovanni APPARENTLY took matters into her own hands??? How about this… Degiovanni wanted to be sure man didnt skip town since he disconnected his phone and did not respond to emails. All these assumptions are the reason innocent people go to jail.
If Ms DeGiovanni believed that fraud was being done, she should have taken him to court. If the guy had applied for a duplicate title, she would have gotten it in a couple of weeks. All she has now is a criminal citation. That’s going to cost her in time and probably money.
If you enter someones home without permission and refuse to leave….UR NOT INNOCENT. U obviously know this woman and are defending her blindly. I buy sell and trade cars as a hobby…..WHO BUYS A CAR WITH NO TITLE???…some cars dont need one due to age but sounds like this wasnt the case. She doesnt sound like the sharpest pencil in the box.
Yes, because people that grab a posse and drive to someone’s home and invite themselves in are ALWAYS rational, law-abiding citizens.
Tell your friend she shouldn’t have PAID until she had a title in hand. That is how normal people conduct business.
And a box cutter…
Not to mention she walked into the man’s house, try that around here and you will get shot.
Fact of the matter remains she UNLAWFULLY entered the home. Ms. DeGiovanni is lucky that this state does not have an open season law (South Carolina does!!) on home invaders. Even if the seller in question was trying to skip town, she shouldn’t have bought the vehicle without a title, or at the very least should have waited until he had the title before paying for the vehicle.
Why would you pay for a vehicle without a title.. messy, mess
Too trusting
I can think of a better word.
Dumb.
Man, the class just keeps rolling on and on.
You mess with the bull, you get the horn.