A Westbrook man involved in a Newcastle bank robbery in January is expected to plead guilty to numerous charges Tuesday afternoon in Wiscasset Superior Court.
Stephen Otis, 26, is expected to enter the pleas before Justice Donald Marden at 1:30 p.m. He was facing charges of robbery and aggravated attempted murder.
According to a press release issued Tuesday by District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau, the prosecution and defense will recommend that sentencing be continued to a later date so that sentencing information can be provided to the court.
Otis and another man, 30-year-old Michael Kelley, reportedly robbed a Newcastle bank of approximately $3,700 on Jan. 17 and then led police on a car chase through Lincoln County. The chase came to a near-tragic end on Route 32 in Jefferson, where the truck Otis and Kelley were in was used to ram a police cruiser, dragging Waldoboro police officer Jeff Fuller underneath a car. Both men were ultimately apprehended following a brief foot chase into nearby woods.
Kelley pled guilty to charges including robbery, aggravated assault, eluding officers, and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon on July 7. He was sentenced to serve a 16-year suspended prison sentence after being sentenced to a total of 24 years.
Officer Fuller suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and internal bleeding during the incident. After emergency surgery and rehabilitation in Portland this spring, Fuller continues to recover at home in Appleton, but has yet to return to work, according to Chief Leroy Jones Tuesday afternoon.
Holly Anderson is the Camden bureau chief for the Village Soup newspapers.
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