Bernier cases stall; public defender to rescue

Defendant Michael Bernier questions neighbor Brock Lapierre on Tuesday in Rochester District Court about an incident that occurred between the two on Feb. 1. (Lebanon Voice/Harrison Thorp photo)

ROCHESTER - The Milton man and former selectman candidate accused of stalking a Milton police officer on Election Day last March was found guilty Tuesday on one count of stalking in Rochester District Court.

Judge Susan Ashley rendered the verdict on Michael Bernier, 49, of Felker Drive, after an hourlong trial that featured three prosecution witnesses, including Milton Selectmen Chairman Tom Gray and the officer whom Bernier was found to have stalked: Milton Police Cpl. Andrew Magargee.

The stalking trial was the second of three trials involving Bernier that were slated for Tuesday after being postponed from June due to Bernier's pleading guilty to misdemeanor sex abuse and serving 60 days of a six month sentence in a Washington D.C. jail after a court case there .

His first trial on Tuesday, a felony criminal threatening case from Jan. 1 involving a family member, was dismissed by Ashley when the victim did not show up to testify.

During the stalking trial prosecuting attorney Deputy Sheriff Dan Donovan had all three witnesses describe what happened on Election Day, March 11, as Bernier - who was a selectman candidate running against Gray - comported himself as he walked what is known casually as the candidate's gauntlet on his way into the polls.

In the candidate's gauntlet, candidates and article backers stand in back of a rope to one side of the walkway heading into the Emma Ramsey Center, the town's polling place.

Testimony from the three witnesses - all called by the prosecution - said much the same thing: that Bernier was complaining loudly about the price of oil and taxes to no one in particular as he walked toward the polls.

After he briefly greeted Gray he went on to extend his arm to Magargee standing next to him and said "Hello."

Magargee replied, "Don't talk to me."

Asked by Public Defender Linda Slamon what happened next, Magargee said that Bernier said, "Oh right, restraining order" and walked into the polls.

Magargee, a Milton resident, at the time was in civilian clothes and carrying a sign backing an article that called for police pay raises.

In final arguments, Slamon reasoned that Bernier had a perfect right to be where he was as he was not only a candidate but was exercising his constitutional right to vote.

However, Donovan characterized the greeting as "sarcastic" and said Bernier knew better than to speak to Magargee as he had a restraining order against Bernier, who had been specifically told not to approach Magargee unless he was in uniform and it was strictly police business.

Ashley then contemplated her decision several moments before pronouncing the guilty verdict, however, she deferred sentencing on the Class A misdemeanor stalking case until the other cases against Bernier on disorderly conduct and criminal threatening were completed.

Those two final charges were wrapped into one case surrounding a Feb. 1 incident at Bernier's Felker Drive home that began with an altercation with his neighbor and ended with his arrest by Magargee after which Bernier is alleged to have criminally threatened the officer while en route to the Strafford County Jail.

Both remaining charges are Class B misdemeanors, so no public defender was available to Bernier, who acted as his own attorney.

The disorderly conduct charge stems from an incident that allegedly began with Bernier doing doughnuts with his snowmobile on his neighbor's property while cursing at him and making vulgar comments to his wife.

The neighbor, Brock Lapierre, of 7 Jackson St, Milton, was in court on Tuesday and testified that Bernier was yelling at him to stay in his house while he "did loops" on his lawn.

Bernier then asked for a courtroom sketch pad and proceeded to draw a diagram of Lapierre's house and land trying to show he may not have been on Lapierre's property, but Lapierre complained it wasn't to scale.

Regarding the two's scuffle that ensued after the shouting match, Lapierre said he went out to confront Bernier about yelling at him and his wife. As the two argued, he said Bernier "lunged at me, so I punched him three times."

After that he said he went back into his house.

Bernier, still acting as his own lawyer, then asked Lapierre if he was on Bernier's Felker Drive porch when the altercation began. Lapierre denied it, prompting Bermier to more closely question Lapierre where he was.

As Bernier continued his questioning, the two men began to often speak over each other, prompting Ashley to caution Bernier he had to let Lapierre finish a sentence without interrupting.

With the trial bogging down and the clock at 4 p.m. Slamon stood up from her seat behind and to the left of Bernier and asked the court to approve her to represent Bernier and conclude the trial at a later date, to which Ashley agreed.

A continuation date of the trial, however, was not agreed upon immediately and will be released at a later date.

Lapierre, himself, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in connection with the incident on Feb. 2 and arraigned on April 1, where he pleaded guilty to a violation offense of simple assault.

He received a $250 fine, $100 of which was suspended. Other conditions include being on good behavior for a year and staying at least 10 yards away from Bernier.