Robert Belmain is escorted Thursday into the Kennebec County Correctional Facility after being arrested upon his discharge from a hospital following treatment of injuries he suffered June 14 in a crash in China. That crash, which followed a high-speed chase, seriously injured Trooper Mickael Nunez. Andy Molloy/ Kennebec Journal
A Caribou man accused of injuring a state trooper with his car during a chase that extended from Waterville to China had his bail set at $500,000 in court Friday.
Robert Belmain, 53, was arrested by state police Thursday after he was released from Central Maine Medical Center, and charged with elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct and other crimes for allegedly striking Trooper Mickael Nunez as the trooper was setting up spike strips to try to deflate Belmain’s tires and stop his vehicle.
He was initially held at the Kennebec County jail without bail. Bail was set at $500,000 by Justice William Stokes on Friday, at the Capital Judicial Center, according to District Attorney Maeghan Maloney. Belmain appeared from the jail via video.
Bail conditions include he have no contact with Nunez; not possess weapons, alcohol or illegal drugs; be subject to being searched; and not drive any motor vehicle.
Belmain was allegedly fleeing from police in his car June 14 when he reportedly struck Nunez on Route 3 in China, near the Family Dollar store.
Nunez, 30, a three-year trooper, suffered a severely broken leg and continues to be treated for his injuries at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta. He underwent surgery, and his condition was upgraded from serious to fair in the days following the incident.
Belmain was arrested Thursday morning after he was released from the hospital, where he had been taken by a LifeFlight of Maine helicopter for treatment of head injuries following the crash.
Nunez was hit as he was trying to retreat to a safe location along Route 3, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The chase had started about 30 minutes earlier on Interstate 95 in Waterville. Another state trooper had stopped Belmain’s car after receiving reports that a green sports car with no license plates was being driven erratically on Interstate 95, just south of Clinton, according to McCausland.
Shortly after the car was pulled over in Waterville, police said, Belmain sped off. Police said he then drove erratically on I-95 and on Route 3 in Augusta, heading toward China.
McCausland said speeds on both roads reached 100 mph, and the car crashed after it struck Nunez.
Elevated aggravated assault is a Class A crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
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