Baileyville man who fled courthouse sentenced

MACHIAS – A 22-year-old Baileyville man who last month ran from the courthouse rather than be sentenced, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for his part in a botched burglary at an elderly Princeton couple’s home.

Michael MacKenzie, who led police on a five-hour chase through Marshfield and into Northfield in July after fleeing Washington County Superior Court, just shook his head when Judge E. Allen Hunter imposed the sentence.

In May, MacKenzie was indicted with three other men, including his 24-year-old brother, on charges of burglary, attempted burglary, two counts of criminal mischief, attempting to commit a Class B crime, and obstructing the reporting of a crime.

The men were charged in connection with a foiled attempt to break into an isolated home on the South Princeton Road. They broke into the garage of an elderly couple, slashed car tires there and cut the telephone lines before trying to pry open a window screen on the house.

The couple’s dog awakened and scared the men off. The 85-year-old homeowner sat up with a shotgun until dawn, when he went to a neighbor’s home to report the crime.

On July 8, MacKenzie pleaded guilty and was scheduled to be sentenced nine days later. In a plea agreement reached with the state, MacKenzie was supposed to be sentenced to three years in prison with all but four months suspended. When he failed to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

On July 24, Baileyville Police Chief Philip Harriman said, the Police Department received a report that a burglary was in progress in Baileyville. When police arrived, the home’s owner, Warren Erwin, a U.S. Border Patrol agent, had MacKenzie in custody.

Erwin told police he was in the kitchen when he heard a noise in the front part of his house. “So he went into the front room and saw Michael MacKenzie trying to pull himself through the window,” Harriman said.

MacKenzie told police he was looking for a place to sleep.

Although MacKenzie has not yet been charged by the District Attorney’s Office on this latest incident he was taken to the Washington County Jail and booked on the failure-to-appear charge.

Deputy Assistant District Attorney Carletta Bassano earlier told MacKenzie’s attorney, Ron Mosley, that in light of his client’s failure to appear on July 17, and the circumstances of his arrest on July 24, she no longer was agreeable to the plea agreement.

On July 25, MacKenzie and his attorney met in a private room at the courthouse. When they were finished talking, instead of returning to the courtroom, MacKenzie fled. He was caught five hours later and charged with escape and burglary of a motor vehicle.

He has not yet appeared on the latest charges.

On Friday, MacKenzie sat in court with his ankles shackled and his wrists handcuffed to his waist.

His attorney argued that his client was a serious drug addict and that was at the root of his problems. He said he had attempted to get his client into an adult drug-court program, but MacKenzie had been rejected. “He has a substance abuse problem which led to these charges today,” the attorney said.

Julie MacKenzie said her son’s problems began when he was 15 years old. She said that before that he was hard working. She also said he was not raised to do the things he has done.

The 22-year-old apologized for what he had done.

The judge did not appear to be swayed. He said when MacKenzie ran from the court it was clear that he was not taking responsibility for his actions. He said that MacKenzie also showed disregard for the elderly couple who couldn’t call police because their telephone line had been cut. “I can’t imagine their level of fear, and their inability to call for help contributed to their fear,” he said.