ROCKLAND, Maine — A Rockland man who was shot by a man in a wheelchair while allegedly trying to rob the disabled man of his prescription medications has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
Christopher Wildhaber, 45, pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary, theft of medication, attempted theft and three counts of refusing to submit to arrest on Monday in Knox County Unified Court.
He has 45 days to file motions in the case with the next hearing scheduled for March 31.
Wildhaber has been held at the Knox County Jail in Rockland since his arrest on the night of Aug. 31, 2015.
Police said he was shot by Harvey Lembo, whose apartment Wildhaber had broken into that night.
Lembo said on Sept. 1 that he had purchased a 7 mm Russian-made revolver the day before the shooting because he had been the victim of four prior burglaries in the six years he had lived in an apartment at Park Place. In those instances, his medications and money had been taken.
Lembo said he was awoken on the night of Aug. 31 by a sound in his apartment and saw a shadow pass by his kitchen into the living room. Lembo said he took the gun, which he had under his pillow, and confronted the intruder, who was rifling through his medications.
Lembo said he ordered the man to sit down, which he did initially, but then the man got up and tried to flee. Lembo said he fired a shot, which struck the man in the shoulder.
Wildhaber was allegedly caught by police in the woods near the Park Street residence a short time after the confrontation.
Wildhaber initially was taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport but was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he was treated for his wound before being taken to jail.
The district attorney said in November he had not decided whether charges would be filed against the 67-year-old Lembo. District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau was not immediately available Tuesday for an update on the status of that investigation.
Stanford Management LLC of Portland, which manages the apartment complex, notified Lembo shortly after the shooting that he was in violation of house rules by having a gun on the premises and that an eviction process would be started if he did not comply.
Lembo has since filed a lawsuit against both the property’s owner, Park Place Associates of Rockland, and the management company, claiming they have violated his U.S. and state constitutional rights to own a gun. The case is pending in Knox County Unified Court in Rockland.