Otis boy guilty of assault Teen avoids more charges in Ellsworth burn case

ELLSWORTH – An Otis boy accused of setting an Ellsworth High School classmate on fire last fall pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge in Ellsworth District Court, avoiding a juvenile trial at the last minute.

Lucas White, 15, wearing a white shirt and a tie, spoke softly as he made an admission – the juvenile equivalent of a guilty plea – to a single count of elevated aggravated assault for setting Donald Awalt on fire last Oct. 30.

Awalt, 14, of Ellsworth sat with his mother, grandparents and other relatives in the courtroom gallery as White stood to address Judge Bernard Staples.

“Yes,” White said in response to the judge’s questions.

When Staples asked Awalt whether he wanted to address the court during the hearing, Awalt gave him a one-word answer.

“Nope,” the burn victim said in a clear voice as his mother, Sheila White, patted him on the shoulder.

Mary Kellett, assistant district attorney for Hancock County, told Staples that the state agreed to drop charges of arson and aggravated assault against White in exchange for the admission.

With the admission, White could be committed to the Maine Department of Corrections until his 21st birthday, according to Kellett. What kind of sentence White might receive will not be determined until he appears in court again on May 7, after the state completes a forensic evaluation of White’s mental state.

Staples agreed to allow White to continue living with his father and stepmother, Christopher and Catherine Robertson, until he returns to court for sentencing.

By agreeing to the admission, White avoided a juvenile trial that had been scheduled for Friday. Several students who had been called as witnesses gathered with their parents in the hall outside the courtroom but were allowed to leave after the agreement had been reached.

In the courtroom, Kellett told the judge White had held a cigarette lighter to a female student’s back Oct. 30 while the school’s entire student body was in the gymnasium watching a Spook Day costume contest. White then was overheard to say that Awalt, dressed in a military sniper outfit with fake leaves on it, looked like marijuana before he sat next to Awalt in the bleachers, according to the prosecutor.

White held the lighter to Awalt three times before he lit the boy on fire, Kellett said.

“Donald pushed Lucas away and said, ‘Hey, watch it,'” she said. “[Awalt] stood up and the flames went up the back of his outfit.”

Awalt leaped from the bleachers and rolled around on the gym floor as other students used parts of their costumes to beat out the flames, according to witnesses. Awalt suffered serious burns to his legs and back and spent weeks recuperating in Boston hospitals. Since the incident, Awalt has resumed attending classes at the school and White has been expelled.

Buzzy Awalt, Donald’s grandfather, said after the hearing that his grandson was glad to avoid having to go through a trial. Donald and his relatives declined further comment.

White and his family made no comment after the proceeding and quickly walked out of the courthouse to their sport-utility vehicle and drove off.

White’s attorney, Chris Largay of Bangor, said outside the courtroom that the admission made sense for his client in light of the potential evidence against the boy. He said the multiple felony charges were “overkill” and that pleading to the one charge prevented everyone from having to sit through a trial.

“Elevated aggravated assault seemed to be the middle ground,” Largay said of the charge to which his client admitted. “[White] is a good kid with good, redeeming qualities.”

Kellett said after the proceeding that she is satisfied with the agreement because White’s conviction record will show that he used fire as a weapon against a human victim.