MACHIAS – A Princeton man made an initial court appearance Friday on a charge of aggravated attempted murder of the Indian Township police chief after he allegedly tried to stab the officer with an arrow.

Machias District Court Judge John Romei set bail for Albert Harnois III, 20, at $50,000 cash or $200,000 surety.

Before setting bail, Romei recessed the court for a half hour to allow time for a court-appointed attorney to be found to represent Harnois.

“This is a very serious charge,” Romei told the defendant.

Harnois was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly stabbed Chief Alexander Nicholas in the chest with a razor broadhead aluminum arrow.

The chief was wearing a Kevlar protective vest and wasn’t harmed. The arrow, however, hit the vest with sufficient thrust to bend the shaft, according to a court affidavit.

The alleged assault occurred at 7:20 a.m. when Nicholas and Officer Christopher Tinker went to an Indian Township home to investigate a complaint by Harnois’ father.

Albert Harnois Jr. told police that his son had assaulted him, according to the affidavit.

The officers searched the home, and Tinker found Harnois standing behind a bedroom door holding a compound bow with a “notched” arrow. According to the affidavit, Nicholas was able to grab the bow and take it away from Harnois while Tinker restrained him.

Harnois resisted being handcuffed, and both officers had to restrain his arms and eventually take him to the floor, according to the affidavit. Tinker was able to force Harnois’ left hand behind his back and Nicholas let go of Harnois’ right arm as he tried to put the handcuff around his left wrist.

Harnois lifted his upper body off the floor. Holding the arrow in his right hand, he drove it into Nicholas. according to the affidavit.

After the officers restrained Harnois, Nicholas asked which of the two officers he had intended to stab and Harnois allegedly said he didn’t care.

Tinker was not wearing his safety vest, according to the affidavit.

During the hearing, Judge Romei told Harnois that a conviction for aggravated attempted murder is punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Before bail was set, Harnois’ court-appointed attorney, Norman Toffolon of Machias, told Romei that anything higher than $1,000 cash would be beyond Harnois’ means. Toffolon asked that his client be placed under house arrest with his mother, who does not reside with his father.

Assistant District Attorney Richard McNamara asked the judge to set bail at $75,000 cash given Harnois’ past record.

Harnois’ record began when he was a juvenile with a November 1999 conviction for reckless conduct. In March 2002, he was fined $400 for criminal mischief and criminal trespass, and in May of that year, he was sentenced to 10 days in jail for theft.

In July 2002, Harnois received a 90-day suspended sentence and one year of probation for acquiring drugs by deception. He was convicted in November 2002 of burglary of a motor vehicle and served six months in jail. Harnois still was on probation for that charge when he was arrested this week, McNamara said.

Romei scheduled a probable cause hearing on the aggravated attempted murder charge for 1 p.m. May 20.