Bay State man gets term for robbery> Armed driver took police on high-speed chase after stealing vehicle in Sebec

DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Bay State man was sentenced to prison Thursday for robbery, eluding a police officer and for criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

Kirk Jardis, 20, of Peabody, Mass., pleaded guilty to all three charges in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft. He was sentenced to eight years in jail with all but four years suspended for robbery and received 18-month terms for the other two counts to be served concurrently. He was ordered to serve six years on probation and must pay restitution of $2,040.

Armed with a shotgun last May, Jardis accosted two men who were sitting inside a parked motor vehicle at the Mary Lunn residence on Route 6 in Sebec.

R. Christopher Almy, district attorney for Piscataquis County, said evidence showed that the men heard gunshots in the rear of the home before being accosted by Jardis. Jardis pointed the gun at the men, threatened them, demanded money and then took their vehicle, he said.

With the stolen vehicle, Jardis led police on a high-speed chase through Piscataquis and Somerset counties, traveling at times in excess of 100 mph through busy intersections, according to Almy. Jardis managed to get around two roadblocks with spikes, and tried to run over Investigator Robert Young of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department at the first scene, Almy said. Young had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.

Jardis was arrested in the Bingham area when the stolen vehicle he was driving ran out of gas. He later told police that the gun, along with others left behind with his disabled vehicle in Sebec, had been stolen from homes in New Hampshire.

Sent to be evaluated at Bangor Mental Health Institute in July, Jardis walked away from the facility to Old Town, where he flagged down a police officer and turned himself in.

“The defendant is a troubled person who’s had some involvement with drugs,” Almy told Judge Jessie Gunther before sentencing. He believed there was a serious risk for Jardis to re-offend.

Attorney David Gray, who represented Jardis, said there was no question that his client had been involved with drugs “which took their toll on him.”

He said Jardis had been an honor student when he got involved in drugs. His grades plummeted and he began to act strangely, family members told Gray. His parents sought medical treatment for him. “He was trying to run away from the world,” when he committed the crimes last May, Gray said.

Mrs. Eric Raymond, who was in the yard when Jardis appeared last May at the Lunn residence and whose vehicle Jardis took, told the court that her young daughter, who also was at the scene, has had recurring nightmares that her father had been shot. Eight months pregnant at the time of the incident, Raymond said she was in anguish. She also had to replace her damaged vehicle.

Standing before the court, Jardis offered a list of apologies that included the victims, Investigator Young, and the court. “I’m really sorry to them and to myself. I wasn’t myself. I don’t know why I did it, I was flipped out. I’m sorry I did it,” he said.

After the sentencing, Almy said Piscataquis County was very lucky that it has had so few incidents involving robbery or murder. “When we do come across one, it’s important that the perpetrator be dealt with harshly,” he said. Even though this was Jardis’ first offense, Almy believed that the danger he posed deserved a four-year sentence.