BANGOR, Maine — A local man who was cleared of trying to kill his estranged wife and her boyfriend in 2009 is again behind bars accused of domestic violence related crimes, Bangor police Sgt. Wade Betters said Monday.
Ryan Witmer, 40, was charged with aggravated assault, domestic violence criminal threatening, domestic violence terrorizing, domestic violence reckless conduct and domestic violence assault, after a 1 a.m incident that involved some type of weapon, the sergeant said.
“All are felonies,” Betters said of the charges.
District Court Judge Bruce Jordan set bail Monday at $100,000 cash and appointed Bangor attorney Jeffrey Silverstein to represent Witmer.
Witmer said through the lawyer-of-the-day, Zachary Smith of Hampden, that he could post no more than $10,000.
Witmer was not asked to enter pleas because he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. The grand jury next convenes on March 22.
Witmer’s next court date is May 3.
Silverstein can argue for lesser bail but conditions would include no contact with the victim or her children, no possession of weapons, no use of alcohol or drugs and testing for their use. Witmer also would be required to abide by a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
A female caller reported that she had been in a verbal argument with Witmer that turned into a physical altercation, Detective Brent Beaulieu said in a Monday morning email.
The victim did not require medical attention, the detective said.
“He allegedly strangled her and held a large knife similar to a sword to her throat,” Suzanne Russell, assistant district attorney, said in an email. “He threatened to kill her if she told anyone.”
Responding law enforcement found Witmer hiding in a shed, located adjacent to the woman’s house.
Witmer previously had been accused of attacking his estranged wife and stabbing her boyfriend in the back nearly a dozen times at her Orrington home on June 28, 2008. In November 2009, a jury of four men and eight women found Witmer, then 33, not guilty of aggravated attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and aggravated assault and burglary.
Jurors did find him guilty of simple assault on his ex-wife and of violating a protection from abuse order.
Witmer’s legal team, led by Portland attorney Daniel Lilley, argued during the 5 1/2-day trial in Penobscot County Superior Court that although he should not have been at the house because of the protection from abuse order, Witmer was defending himself when he stabbed his then-wife’s boyfriend 11 times in the back.
Lilley died Saturday in Portland at the age of 79.
BDN reporter Judy Harrison contributed to this story.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.