WEST BATH, Maine — A Bath man charged in December with intentionally striking a 35-year-old man with his car, fleeing the crash and hiding the Volkswagen Jetta in Phippsburg will serve five years in prison.
James Black, 23, was sentenced Friday in West Bath District Court to 12 years in prison with all but five years suspended and four years of probation. Judge Daniel Billings agreed with prosecutor Jonathan Liberman’s sentencing recommendation, which followed a plea agreement with Black.
Black was arrested Dec. 10, 2015, and charged with elevated aggravated assault. He was subsequently charged with a second count of elevated aggravated assault, three counts of robbery, three counts of aggravated assault and one count each of operating under the influence resulting in injury, aggravated driving to endanger, aggravated leaving the scene of an accident, violation of conditions of release and falsifying physical evidence.
George Markos, 28, of Bath was a passenger in the Jetta that night and has since pleaded guilty to falsifying physical evidence and violation of conditions of release in connection with his role in the incident, according to Liberman, an assistant district attorney for Sagadahoc County. Markos was sentenced to four years in jail with all but 18 months suspended for those and other, unrelated crimes.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, Black pleaded no contest to one count of elevated aggravated assault and guilty to charges of operating under the influence resulting in injury, aggravated leaving the scene of an accident, violation of conditions of release and falsifying physical evidence. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Liberman told Billings on Friday that Black pulled up next to a man on Richardson Street the morning of Dec. 9 and asked him if he had any drugs. When the man said no, Black drove away, but Liberman said he turned the Jetta around, drove back down Richardson Street and intentionally swerved off the road to hit the man, knocking him onto the car’s hood, over the roof and onto the ground behind the car.
Despite significant injuries — three broken ribs, a separated shoulder and broken nose — the man walked to work and called police. He was taken to Mid Coast Hospital, police said at the time.
Police subsequently found the Jetta in a wooded area in Phippsburg belonging to Black’s family, and Black was arrested later at his home.
Liberman said Friday that Black lied to police when asked where his car was and denied any role in the incident. He said that since the crash, Black has offered four or five versions of the events, including at one time telling police he wasn’t in the car.
The victim and his wife both spoke of the physical and psychological pain their family suffered, and the man told Billings that his shoulder required surgery, causing him to miss four months of work and suffer financially.
“It’s been extremely hard on our family overall,” the wife said, breaking into tears. “I can’t wrap myself around someone hitting someone and leaving him there on the side of the road … I can’t imagine how someone could drive away and try to cover up something — and not at least call.”
Black’s attorney, Christopher Ledwick, argued for a lesser sentence, including only 18 months of actual time served, pointing to Black’s participation in a drug treatment program while in jail, as well as to his completion of his high school equivalency program. He also referenced a letter of support from a former employer of Black’s as well as testimony by Black’s former juvenile probation officer who told Billings his family was “fairly dysfunctional,” his mother homeless for a time, and that Black dropped out of high school after ninth grade.
“He’s got potential,” Ledwick said. “He’s shown by his performance that he can be a productive member of society.” Of the incident, he said, “He was drunk, he was high and he was scared. He fled.”
Reading from a written statement, Black told his victim, in part, “I’m sorry my car hit you and I left you there … I was in a rough part of my life and I turned to drugs and alcohol. I had no intention of hitting you or robbing you that night … it’s not the person I truly am and it’s not the way I would want my son to act.”
But Billings said Black’s statement was another attempt to minimize his involvement in the case.
“The nature of the leaving the scene — the time of day, the location and the clear seriousness of the crash … this isn’t somebody who got clipped by a car and went up on the road … it was clear to anyone in that vehicle that this was a serious crash and the likelihood of serious injury was significant,” Billings said. “Despite that, Mr. Black made the decision to leave the scene, hide the vehicle and to lie about it. That lack of concern for the victim, or any effort to see that he was provided help, is all a major aggravating factor.”
Following the hearing, Liberman praised Bath police for their diligence and prompt attention to the case.
“Had it not been for [the] Bath [police department’s] quick, competent and effective response to this crime, key evidence may have been destroyed,” Liberman wrote in an email Friday afternoon. “Due to the hard work of Bath officers, James Black was behind bars within a day, where he remained while his case was pending and where he will remain until he completes his sentence.”