AUGUSTA — An Augusta man shot by police Monday was placed in state custody in 2003 after stealing an airplane and crashing it in Canada.
Jason Begin, 36, was shot Monday afternoon inside the offices of the outpatient clinic run by Riverview Psychiatric Center’s Assertive Community Treatment team. Deputy Chief Jared Mills of the Augusta Police said the shooting occurred when Officer Laura Drouin responded to mental health professionals’ request to help take Begin to the hospital.
“After contact was made, an incident involving deadly force occurred,” Mills said in a press release. He said the person was immediately taken for treatment.
Mills said Monday night that Begin was in stable condition at MaineGeneral Medical Center. A hospital spokesman said Tuesday morning that Begin’s condition, per the clinical administrator, is “undetermined.”
In September 2003 Begin apparently hot-wired a plane at an airfield in Turner and flew to Canada before crashing near Montreal when the airplane ran out of gas.
Published reports said Begin, then 25 and without a pilot’s license, suffered minor injuries and spent several months in jail in Canada before being returned to the United States.
Investigators at the time said Begin learned to fly using a computer program.
Investigators theorized that Begin, who lived in Lewiston, fled to escape charges of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact in Androscoggin County. Court records indicate the victim in the alleged assault was a sibling. The sexual assault charge was later dropped and Begin was found not criminally responsible because of mental illness on charges of theft and violating conditions of release. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed with the disposition.
State experts testified in 2004 that Begin was diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression and a developmental disorder similar to autism. He was placed at the state forensic hospital.
It is unclear how long Begin had been living outside the hospital. Individuals released from the Riverview Psychiatric Center live in the community and are treated at an outpatient clinic run by the Assertive Community Treatment team.
His Riverview report says Begin is required to attend sex offender group therapy.
“Past Institutional and State Forensic Service reports reflect that Mr. Begin has been a victim as well as a perpetrator in sexual offending behaviors but has no convictions as a sex offender,” according to information in a 2012 report from Riverview Psychiatric Center personnel. “Mr. Begin’s participation in treatment is voluntary, as he recognizes that ongoing sexual offender treatment is in his best interest.”
The Maine Office of the Attorney General is investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure for all shootings involving a law enforcement officer, Mills said.
“Per our standard operating procedure, Officer Drouin has been placed on administrative leave with pay,” Mills said in the release. “Our thoughts are with everyone involved in this heartbreaking incident.”
The shooting was reported shortly after 3:40 p.m. inside the former hospital. Initial radio reports indicated at least one person bleeding from the chest. There also was a report of a person suffering knife wounds to the arms and chest. It was unclear if the person with the knife wounds was the same person who was shot.
David Sorensen, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, later said Begin was shot inside the offices of Riverview Psychiatric Center’s outpatient clinic.
“Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office have responded to a report of an officer involved in use of force in Augusta,” said Tim Feeley, a spokesman for the Maine Attorney General’s Office, via email. “Any further inquiries should be directed to the Augusta Police Department.”
Drouin was 20 when she joined the department May 14, 2012, after an eight-month internship. She graduated from the University of Maine at Fort Kent with a bachelor’s degree in public safety and an associate degree in criminal justice. Drouin’s husband, Anthony Drouin, is also a patrolman with the Augusta Police department.
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