Teens acquitted in assault

A Cumberland County Superior Court jury acquitted three men of aggravated assault charges last week in connection with the death of a Westbrook man on Brown Street last July.

Police had charged Alexander Layug, 18, of Massachusetts Avenue, Portland; Nicholas Lavigne, 19, of Pierce Street and Wade DePalma, 19, of Bridge Street with aggravated assault after Douglas Wilcox died after he was beaten by the three men last July.

After hearing closing arguments in the morning, the jury deliberated through the afternoon and announced its verdict shortly before 4 p.m. The jury acquitted the defendants not only of aggravated assault but also a lesser assault charge.

The three men beat Wilcox in front of the Skybox Tavern on Brown Street. The fight was the culmination of a series of arguments that occurred over the course of July 2 and into the early hours of July 3.

The fight began between Layug and Wilcox, according to testimony at the trial. Then Lavigne and DePalma got involved. According to the state medical examiner’s office, which had not released a final report by Tuesday, Wilcox died of “acute meningitis due to blunt-force trauma to the head.”

The three men were originally charged with manslaughter after the police investigation concluded Wilcox’s death on July 7 was the result of injuries received during the altercation. The state dropped the manslaughter charges in favor of aggravated assault in early January.

Defense attorneys James Bushell, Layug’s attorney; Robert Levine, Lavigne’s attorney, and Howard O’Brien, DePalma’s defense attorney, said they were not surprised by the jury’s decision.

“I think we believed in these kids,” said O’Brien, who went on to say that it was telling that “the state went along with the self-defense argument.”

“I’m just very happy,” said Kim Lavigne, Nick Lavigne’s mother. “All the statements from the boys were true from the start.”

However, the Wilcox family was looking for a different outcome. “I don’t believe the kids were holding him down” for the police, as Layug had testified the day before. “Their intention was to beat him,” said Fred Saucier, Wilcox’s brother, speaking before the verdict was delivered. “The family thinks this could have been avoided if the cops were called prior to the assault.”

“I feel bad for my nephew and for the three boys,” said Wilcox’s uncle, Gary Wilcox, also before the verdict. “It’s a tragedy.”

During closing arguments, Assistant Attorney General Fernand LaRochelle emphasized the moment of the assault, saying that the defendants had used excessive force and also that they were not in a position where self-defense was necessary. “When he’s on the ground, do you think they believe that he is about to use unlawful force?” he asked the jury. “That’s what self-defense is about.”

“Was the idea to hold him for the police? Or was the idea just to beat him up?” he went on. “If they wanted to hold him, they could have. DePalma and Lavigne are championship wrestlers. They know how to hold someone down.”

The defense claimed Wilcox was the aggressor in the series of arguments during the day in question, and the defendants had acted in self-defense. The defense attorneys argued that Wilcox, according to police, had a combination of drugs in his system and was argumentative, irrational, confrontational, and delusional.

“A drug addict got out of control and threatened a number of people, and these guys did the right thing,” said O’Brien.

After the trial, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bill Stokes conceded that the verdict was the jury’s to make. “We felt a jury had to look at it because (Wilcox) had run away, and three people had chased him down and beat him, which we thought was excessive,” he said. “The issue is whether self-defense was justifiable, and the jury should make the call.”

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