AUGUSTA, Maine — A former Vermont police officer accused of pointing a firearm at another vehicle during a road rage incident reached a plea deal in an Augusta courtroom on Tuesday, according to Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
Demetria Buhalis, 42, agreed to a deferred disposition on a felony charge of reckless conduct with a firearm, Maloney said Wednesday.
Buhalis had been traveling south on Interstate 95 in Sidney in April when she allegedly pointed a loaded firearm at another vehicle while passing it. The operators of the other vehicle, who were not injured, were able to keep Buhalis’ vehicle in sight before state police stopped her on Interstate 295 in West Gardiner.
Maloney said Buhalis’ plea deal orders her to have no contact with the two victims, not to possess weapons, be subject to random searches and undergo psychiatric counseling. If she does not violate those terms over the next 12 months, the felony charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor count of reckless conduct.
If Buhalis does not violate the terms of the plea deal, she would face 10 days in jail or a fine of $575 on the misdemeanor charge, but if she violates the conditions, she would face up to five years behind bars on the Class C felony count of reckless conduct with a firearm.
Maloney said even if Buhalis does violate the plea conditions, it’s unlikely she would receive the maximum prison term on the felony charge because she does not have a prior record.
