Press Releases

November 12, 2008

Statement from Colonel Joel Wilkinson, Chief of the Maine Warden Service, on Sentence of Robert LaPointe

Today, Mr. Robert LaPointe of Medway, Mass., received a sentence of five years with all but 3-1/2 years suspended on two guilty convictions of aggravated operating a watercraft under the influence while boating on Long Lake on Aug. 11, 2007.

His actions that night claimed the lives of two people: Mr. Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Harrison, and Ms. Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick.

The Maine Warden Service hopes this sentence will help ease some of the pain felt by family and friends of Mr. Trott and Ms. Groetzinger. They are the victims in this incident.

On Sept. 24, Mr. LaPointe was found guilty by a jury of his peers. Now he will be held accountable for his actions.

When Mr. LaPointe decided to operate a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol, he showed disregard for the lawful operation of a motor boat. It’s not uncommon for him to show poor judgment given his 22 previous speeding convictions. Mr. LaPointe chose to demonstrate a reckless behavior that placed a higher value on his boat and what it could do than on human life.

In Maine, that kind of behavior will not be tolerated. The Maine Warden Service will continue to patrol Maine’s waterways for reckless behavior and will punish violators accordingly. Today’s sentence proves that the Maine’s citizens want our lakes, ponds, rivers and streams to be safe.

In addition to jail time, Mr. LaPointe will be on probation for two years and will be required to meet certain special conditions, including: no use or possession of alcohol; no operation of any watercraft or recreational vehicle; a boater safety course with proof provided to the Probation Office; random searches of his person, residence and motor vehicles; completion of a substance abuse counseling to the satisfaction of the Probation Office; and to not be present in any establishment that serves alcohol.

I thank Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley for his commitment to Maine’s boating laws by the issuance of this sentence. Also, I thank Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson and the staff of the District Attorney’s Office for their unwavering commitment to bring justice to the families of Mr. Trott and Ms. Groetzinger.

Maine Warden Service investigators partnered with the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office to carefully piece together the facts of what happened that night, and present those findings to the jury. I believe the investigation epitomized the effectiveness of good communication and teamwork, and I remain steadfast that our investigation of this incident was thorough one.

The crash occurred around 9 p.m. Aug. 11, 2007, when a 32-foot Sunsation powerboat operated by Mr. LaPointe ran over a 14-foot Glasspar motorboat operated by Mr. Trott.

It took the Maine Warden Service more than three days to locate and recover the bodies of the victims from the bottom of Long Lake, and another day to recover the remnants of their boat. The crime scene stretched over a half-mile and much of it was under 30 feet of water.

The investigation of the crash was one of the longest and most complex in our history. It involved more than a dozen uniformed game wardens, field wardens, and members of the Maine Warden Service’s Dive Team, Air Wing and Investigation Division, which works major cases dealing with possible manslaughter charges.

Maine Warden Service Investigators Phil Dugas and Dan Scott, and Wardens Kevin Anderson, Jason Luce and Jeremy Judd were the primary investigators on this case. The Harrison Fire Department, Bridgton Police Department, Maine State Police, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, Bridgton Fire Department, Naples Fire Department, and United States Coast Guard also assisted in the investigation.

Media Note: Col. Wilkinson was Captain of the Maine Warden Service at the time of this incident, and directed and coordinated the investigation. Dan Scott was an investigator in the case, and recently was promoted to the rank of Captain.

DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

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