BANGOR, Maine — A man shot in the face by police more than a year ago during a standoff at his Ellsworth home pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the incident in which he was injured.
Jeffrey Paul Barnard, 52, was scheduled to represent himself in a jury trial Tuesday afternoon. Barnard had sought to delay the trial because of ongoing medical problems related to his shooting, according a recent letter filed in federal court in Bangor.
There is no plea agreement about his sentencing, according to court documents. A sentencing date has not been set.
Barnard was shot in the face by Maine State Police Trooper Scott Duff on the morning of June 1, 2014, after a lengthy standoff with police that included Barnard holding a .22-caliber rifle, threatening to blow up his camper with a can of gasoline and throwing a Molotov cocktail-type explosive device, Ellsworth police Lt. Harold Page said last June.
The Maine attorney general’s office late last year found the shooting justified. Barnard’s wife has disputed the officers’ descriptions of events.
The standoff was precipitated when police issued a criminal threatening summons to Barnard on May 30 and served him with a protection order as the result of a dispute Barnard was having with his landlord, Page has said.
Barnard faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
BDN writer Bill Trotter contributed to this report.