ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Hancock man pleaded not guilty to a terrorizing charge Friday morning before breaking down into tears in Hancock County Superior Court.
Michael A. Carter, 38, was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly making threatening statements on Facebook, where he allegedly announced a violent outburst reminiscent of the killing spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Police have declined to release the complete contents of the threat, but on Friday gave the following quotes, allegedly attributable to Carter:
“We will all go out in a blaze of fire, think that school shooting was bad it was nothing to what will happen in Ellsworth,” Carter allegedly wrote on his own Facebook profile.
Among other statements, Carter also allegedly wrote on the Ellsworth Police Department’s Facebook page that “people will parish [sic].”
The posts were reported to police by someone familiar with Carter, who felt threatened, said Ellsworth Police detective Dotty Small on Friday. The post on the police department’s page has been deleted, and Carter’s privacy settings made it impossible to tell whether a post on his profile was still there.
While schools were closed Thursday, police placed a local day care on lockdown and guarded it until Carter was arrested.
In court, Justice Kevin Cuddy accepted Carter’s not guilty plea and set bail at $10,000 surety or $1,000 cash. A probation hold is also in place on Carter, who was released from jail on probation Dec. 21 after serving a 30-day sentence for assaulting his wife on Nov. 21 in Penobscot.
After bail was set, Carter asked the judge if he could make a statement. The judge told Carter it may be unwise to speak before his trial, and advised him to confer with his attorney, Ronald McMullen.
After speaking with the lawyer for a moment, Carter broke into tears and asked to be treated at a mental health facility, rather than return to jail.
McMullen asked Cuddy to call in a crisis response team to meet with Carter, and the judge ordered Lt. Frank Shepard to call in a counselor to evaluate Carter.
A tentative trial date has been scheduled for Carter on March 15. Terrorizing is a Class D crime, punishable by up to 364 days in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
See? He doesnt know truth from fiction.
$1,000 cash? Really? And this just might be a small reason why he’s a repeat.
Well, Of course he is not guilty….You can tell by his expression in the mug shot!
Nothing a week in the mental hospital won’t cure…..
Acadia can’t fix stupid. Neither can DDPC.
once again this guy gets out on bail, his record is longer than high street in ellsworth…..every week he is arrested and let out……time to look at the judge that is hearing his cases…..Better hope that nothing happens at the local schools or us as parents will be looking for him…..
They should have kept him in jail…but the justice system in this State does not make any sense. I agree lets hope nothing happens with this nutcase back out in the public.
He is on a probation hold, meaning his PO wont release him from custody. The justice system is working in this case.
You did read the part about the probation hold right? Don’t worry he wont be going anywhere anytime soon.
I understand your angst, but try to tone down the conditional threats against the Justice. He has to follow the law, just as you and I do, and I’m sure he’ll do the best he can to protect our children, and others from potential violence at this man’s hands.
Can you read?
I know not everyone out there is a fan of law enforcement and every time I stand up for them on here I get dislikes BUT the majority of them do a great job and how frustrating it must be for them to go through the effort of locking down a local daycare and protecting the children until he was found and arrested, bringing him in and then seeing this as his bail conditions. I think I’d get so frustrated at that job I just couldn’t do it — risking their lives and working hard for civilians like myself to get these people off the street only to have them let go the next day and then having to risk their lives again when they follow through with their threats or do something else stupid and reckless.
Not to mention the fact that this guy threatened children and the judge or DA or whoever made this decision is basically putting a very small dollar amount on our children’s lives and safety. If this guy gets let out (I know there is a probation hold but still…) I would probably keep my kid home from school for a good long while until this guy was put behind bars or serious security was placed at the schools (even then I’m not sure I would be ok letting them go back to school). I just don’t understand this…
Very nicely said! Maine’s justice system sucks! My hat goes off to all the officers that risk their lives daily to try and protect our streets. They get a big slap in the face when they let the dirtbags go the next day one 1,000. worth of bail. Sickening. Hopefully, his PO will stick to the hold and keep him locked up. If he is thought not to be a risk any longer, he could be let go. Putting him in Acadia now would not be such a good idea. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Ignorance. Plain and simple.
Before anyone else starts spouting off about him being released please realize that he is on a probation hold. A probation hold was set in place by his probation officer to insure that he will not be getting released anytime soon. The bail was set by the Judge because even this pos has rights. However, the probation hold trumps any amount of bail. The real crime here is the fact that this dirtbag was sentenced to, I’m guessing a year, with all but 30 days suspended for domestic violence assault in the first place.
True but what if he wasn’t on probation? Then would he get the same bail amount? I honestly don’t know how this works so I’m wondering if that is the case? If so, then it seems like people may be upset about the bail amount because another person could do this who isn’t on probation and get away with only a $1,000 bail, maybe less if they had no previous record and any threat like this, previous record or not should have a higher bail in my opinion.
I totally agree with you. My comment was in response to the comments I was reading about him being released which was not the case. I personaly think that bail considerations should be revised when it comes to potential violence. One thing that people need to keep in mind is the states problem with overcrowding in jails. We have people in jail on probation holds, for months for smoking pot, while people with a tendency for violence are given low bail.
Were any guns he owns confiscated? Were guns in the home he is living at removed? What provisions were made to keep weapons out of reach of this person? Clearly if you are foolish/sick enough to threaten it on facebook it is something that has run through your mind and must be taken seriously. If you are a friend or relative of this guy please lock up and hide your weapons and ammunition!!!
This dude is obviously Kucku for Coco puffs.