ALFRED, Maine — A former New Hampshire man has received the maximum allowable sentence of 30 years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a Lebanon man while burglarizing his home in January 2013.
Ronald Bauer, 49, formerly of Farmington, New Hampshire, will serve the 30-year sentence consecutively to sentences he is currently serving in New Hampshire for armed robbery, possession of a controlled drug, being an armed career criminal and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a release from York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery.
Bauer pleaded guilty to elevated aggravated assault and burglary with the use of a firearm after shooting Richard Potorski on Jan. 8, 2013.
Potorski had returned to his home from work to eat lunch that day when he was surprised by an intruder, later identified as Bauer, who came up the basement stairs, according to the release. When Bauer asked what he was doing in the home, Potorski said he lived in the house. Bauer then shot Potorski, severing his spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed.
According to the release, as Potorski fell to the floor, he asked Bauer to call for help, and Bauer replied, “Cry me a river” before stealing Potorski’s cellphone and other property and fleeing the scene.
Maine State Police, the York County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts tracked the stolen cellphone, which led them to the Somersworth, New Hampshire, home where Bauer was living with Susan Gutierrez, who allegedly drove Bauer to Potorski’s home with the intent to commit the burglary.
Gutierrez remains in York County Jail awaiting trial.