AUGUSTA — A Whitefield woman jailed since March 8 on charges she attacked her father with a fire poker and a piece of wood was indicted Thursday by the Kennebec County grand jury.

Briana L. Rideout, 19, was indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the March 7 incident in Randolph that apparently sent her father scrambling out a basement window.

Investigators at the time said she beat the man in an alcohol-induced rage.

Rideout also was indicted on a charge of violation of condition of release because she was on pre-conviction bail at the time.

During a hearing Tuesday at the Capital Judicial Center, her attorney, William Baghdoyan, sought to have Rideout’s $25,000 bail lowered to $1,000 cash with a Maine Pretrial Services contract. He said she had no prior criminal record and had yet to be indicted at that point.

“Alcohol is her problem,” Baghdoyan told Superior Court Justice William Stokes. “It is a large problem in her family.”

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Assistant District Attorney Frayla Tarpinian opposed any reduction, saying, “The state is extremely concerned” about Rideout’s behavior.

Tarpinian said Rideout’s father was “lucky to be alive” and that he had skull fractures, 11 staples and bruises as a result of the attack.

“He ended up climbing out the basement window to get away from her,” Tarpinian said.

Rideout was arrested the next day in Whitefield.

Stokes reduced bail to $15,000 cash with conditions that include a prohibition on possession and use of alcohol.

“It’s a troubling assault,” Stokes said. “Her reaction is way out of proportion. Beating someone with a hard object round the head can cause serious injury and death.”

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Baghdoyan said it was unlikely Rideout could post that much bail, and asked that the case be set for trial as soon as possible.

At the same hearing, Rideout pleaded guilty to criminal mischief that occurred Aug. 6, 2016 in Randolph. She was sentenced to 50 days in jail, and ordered to pay $1,459.37 restitution.

In that incident, Tarpinian said Rideout used a piece of wood to break the rear window of a vehicle because she believed her boyfriend had cheated on her. However, the car belonged to a different person.

Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631 or at:

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: betadams


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