BATH

Man charged with stabbing girlfriend may plead guilty

A man from Bath accused of nearly stabbing his girlfriend to death earlier this year is expected to plead guilty Friday to a charge of elevated aggravated assault.

Sagadahoc County District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said the plea agreement with Matthew Wycoff, 29, recommends a sentence of 15 years.

Rushlau said that if Justice Andrew Horton accepts his guilty plea, Wycoff will serve eight years in prison and be on probation for the remaining seven years. A charge of attempted murder would be dismissed, Rushlau said.

Bath Police Chief Michael Field said in an email, “This is one of the most serious domestic violence cases we have seen here in Bath.”

Wycoff is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. Friday in Sagadahoc County Superior Court.

Bath police charged Wycoff on Feb. 20 after an early morning domestic disturbance at an apartment building on Washington Street.

Officers found a 38-year-old woman, reported to be Wycoff’s girlfriend, bleeding from the neck.

Witnesses told police that Wycoff stabbed the woman multiple times in the neck after the two argued. Wycoff fled the apartment but was arrested a short while later at a gas station in Topsham.

The victim will not be in court Friday, and Wycoff will be sentenced at a later date, said Rushlau.

AUBURN

Mother sues teacher after child attacked in classroom

The mother of a Minot boy is suing a substitute teacher for negligence after her son was assaulted by another student in the classroom while the teacher was out of the room.

According to the complaint filed Wednesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court, Joel Clavet attended Lewiston Middle School in May 2011 when he was assaulted by a classmate referred to only as John Doe.

The Sun Journal reported that Clavet’s mother, Maureen, says in the suit that the assault occurred when the substitute teacher was out of the classroom talking to another teacher in the hallway. Joel Clavet suffered a facial cut that required stitches.

The teacher knew John Doe had “behavioral issues,” including “a proclivity for violence,” the lawsuit says. Maureen Clavet is seeking damages, including attorney’s fees.

WISCASSET

Woman charged with killing ex-boyfriend pleads insanity

A Waldoboro woman charged with shooting and killing her former boyfriend in July has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Arline Lawless, 25, was indicted last week on a charge of murder in the death of Norman Benner, 34, of Waldoboro. Benner’s body was discovered in the couple’s home when family members went to check on him July 23. He had been shot in the head. Police said Lawless also shot herself.

She was arrested in August as she was discharged from Spring Harbor treatment center in Westbrook.

The Bangor Daily News said that on Thursday she pleaded not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

PORTLAND

Part of Congress Street shut after crash injures three

A section of Congress Street near Brooklawn Cemetery was closed for two hours Thursday morning after two vehicles collided head-on.

Sgt. Troy Bowden said a 1996 Ford Ranger driven by Robert Biltcliffe of Saco “drifted into the oncoming lane” while traveling outbound on Congress Street. Biltcliffe’s pickup truck hit a 2007 Honda minivan driven by Brenda Grindle of Portland.

Biltcliffe, a passenger whose name was not available and Grindle were taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center. Bowden said Biltcliffe suffered a serious injury. He was listed in fair condition Thursday night.

The cause of the accident, which occurred at 11:35 a.m., remains under investigation.

SANFORD

Young bicyclist injures head in collision with a vehicle

A 13-year-old bicyclist was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland with a head injury after a collision Wednesday with a car on Main Street in Sanford.

The car was leaving the parking lot of the Green Tea Restaurant at 6 p.m. and turning left, police said. The cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, was riding north on the sidewalk.

The two collided and the girl was taken by rescue workers to Goodall Hospital, and then, by LifeFlight helicopter, to Maine Med.

The crash is under investigation.

DEXTER

Police say loud music led to pot-growing operation

Police investigating “extremely loud” music here instead found what they call a marijuana growing operation.

Chief Kevin Wintle said he and another officer were on routine patrol Tuesday evening when they came to an area from which music was blasting. He told the Bangor Daily News that he smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from an open window in the home.

After getting consent for a search, police found a greenhouse on the property full of marijuana plants. Police confiscated 20 pounds of processed marijuana as well as 28 mature plants, some of which were 12 feet tall.

Raymond Buxton was arrested on drug trafficking charges. Buxton, 47, was freed on $1,500 unsecured cash bail and is due in Penobscot County Superior Court on Nov. 15.

AUGUSTA

Foliage colors nearing peak in far northern Maine areas

Maine forestry officials say peak foliage colors have begun to appear in far northern Maine.

The state’s weekly fall foliage report says forest and park rangers are reporting that trees are at least 75 percent toward their peak color change with minimal leaf drop in all of Aroostook County.

High foliage color between 50 percent and 75 percent is being reported in the Greenville and Jackman areas in northwest Maine, while moderate foliage color is being reported in the Rangeley region across the state to the eastern Maine coast.

Southern and central Maine for the most part are experiencing low color change so far.

Prosecutor: Assault suspect withheld food from daughter

An Augusta man is charged with assaulting his infant daughter, in a case in which the prosecutor says care and nourishment were withheld from the 2-month-old.

Jedediah D. Watson, 33, was indicted last week on charges of assault and endangering the welfare of a child from Sept. 8 to Nov. 7, 2011.

The indictment was sealed until Watson’s arrest Tuesday morning. Additional details about the case were not available in court records.

Watson was arraigned Wednesday in Waterville District Court, and remained Thursday in Kennebec County jail in lieu of bail, which was set at $1,000 cash or $10,000 worth of real estate.