AUGUSTA — A Farmingdale man charged in an incident that sent a bullet through a nearby home won’t go to trial next week on a sex charge after all.
The state on Friday filed a dismissal of an indictment charging Dylan M. Dehetre, 24, with unlawful sexual contact with a child under 12. The dismissal at the Capital Judicial Center cited “insufficient evidence.”
A jury had been selected to hear the case over two days next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dehetre’s attorney, Darrick Banda, said, “Dylan has maintained his innocence on this charge for over a year and is relieved that this nightmare is over.”
Banda added in the email sent Friday, “Only just yesterday did the prosecution learn that the alleged victim had made statements that she had lied to police during her forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center. It is to (Assistant District Attorney) Frayla Tarpinian’s credit that she not only immediately disclosed this exculpatory information to the defense, but also made the prudent decision to refrain from going forward on the case given this new information.”
Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the new information resulted in the dismissal.
“A witness came forward with new information that made it impossible to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Maloney said via email.
The dismissed charge alleged that the offense — which carried a prison term of up to 10 years in prison — occurred between Aug.1, 2013, and Aug. 30, 2015, in Litchfield.
Dehetre still faces separate charges related to an April 5, 2016, incident in Farmingdale in which a bullet fired inside one house pierced walls and surrounding woods before entering a second house.
In that case, he is charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, falsifying physical evidence, discharging a firearm near a dwelling and criminal mischief. Dehetre has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Banda represents him in that case as well.
The indictment says firing the weapon created a risk of bodily injury to a woman. It also says Dehetre “did alter, destroy, conceal or remove” items relevant to the investigation, discharged a weapon in a residence without the owner’s permission and damaged or destroyed windows or walls of another residence.
According to Maine State Police, troopers went to 48 Pleasant Ridge Road, Farmingdale, just before 11 a.m. April 6, 2016, to investigate a report that a bullet had been fired from within that residence.
They reported that “the bullet traveled from inside 48 Pleasant, through the wall, crossing approximately 100 feet through the woods and piercing into the neighboring residence at 50 Pleasant Ridge Drive. Fragments of a bullet were found in the neighboring residence,” according to a news release sent at the time from Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Police also said Dehetre was allowed legally to possess firearms but told them he had removed all his firearms from the residence recently and refused to let troopers look in his bedroom.
After obtaining a search warrant, police reported finding a 30.30 lever-action rifle hidden in Dehetre’s room.
Court records show the docket call in that case is scheduled for next month.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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