PORTLAND – A man whose dramatic escape while on trial in Piscataquis County Superior Court was captured by a TV news crew lost his appeal to the state supreme court Tuesday.

Michael Chasse argued that state law required his trial on the escape charges be held in Piscataquis County. Instead, the trial was moved to Somerset County because of the heavy publicity.

In its unanimous ruling, the supreme court noted that it had created rules that allow the transfer of criminal proceedings to an adjoining county “for purposes of sound judicial administration.”

“In the present case, the court was justified in concluding that the overwhelming publicity would make the selection of an impartial jury in Piscataquis County impossible and a needless expense. It did not exceed the bounds of its discretion,” Justice Susan Calkins wrote.

Chasse escaped during his first trial by throwing laundry detergent into the eyes of Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin and Chief Deputy Dale Clukey as they led him out of the courthouse Nov. 6, 1998.

Later, Chasse stabbed Goggin and Clukey, then commandeered a pickup truck. He was arrested five hours later in a canoe on Sebec Lake.

Chasse was convicted and sentenced to an additional 14 years in prison for charges including escape and aggravated assault.

That second sentence will not begin until Chasse completes his original 12-year sentence for aggravated assault and robbery for the 1997 stabbing of a man in Brewer.

After Chasse was captured and convicted in the stabbing case, authorities didn’t leave anything to chance.

During the second trial, Chasse was kept in leg shackles and he wore a special leg brace that would keep him from running. Ten deputies fanned out around the perimeter of the courtroom while he testified.