PORTLAND — A North Yarmouth man who was involved in a shootout outside a rival’s home in Yarmouth last fall has been sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Michael Lovering, 48, pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court this week to criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon as part of a plea agreement in which charges of reckless conduct and terrorizing were dismissed.

Lovering was arrested on Sept. 30 after he drove with his girlfriend and another man to 24 Granite St. to confront a man who had had an affair with his girlfriend, according to a Yarmouth police report.

Lovering made threatening calls and sent threatening text messages to the man before showing up at his house with a handgun, according to police.

The man met Lovering outside the home, armed with a handgun and shotgun of his own. The two fired at least 12 shots at each other before police intercepted Lovering’s car as he drove off, police said.

No one was hurt in the shootout. The other man was not charged.

Justice Nancy Mills gave Lovering a five-year sentence Wednesday, with 18 months in jail and the rest suspended during a two-year probation term.

Lovering’s girlfriend, Samantha Newton, 31, was also arrested on the night of the shootout. She was convicted of reckless conduct and carrying a concealed weapon, a .357-caliber revolver.

She was given a two-year sentence, with 90 days in jail and the balance suspended for a two-year probation term.

The other man who was in Lovering’s car, Mark Stevens, 28, was charged with reckless conduct, criminal threatening and terrorizing. Those charges are still pending. 

Scott Dolan can be contacted at: 791-6304 or at

sdolan@pressherald.com