Lawyers want boat crash trial moved from Portland

PORTLAND – A Massachusetts man who is scheduled to stand trial next month for manslaughter and other charges arising from a fatal boat crash last summer on Maine’s Long Lake is seeking to have the trial delayed or moved out of Portland.

Attorneys for Robert LaPointe, 39, of Medway, Mass., and Bridgton said extensive media coverage of the case created a “climate of hostility” toward the defendant.

The defense also is seeking to exclude the results of a blood alcohol test taken after the crash, saying it was obtained illegally and is not scientifically reliable.

Prosecutors say LaPointe’s blood alcohol content was 0.11 three hours after his boat slammed into a smaller craft on Aug. 11, 2007, killing its two occupants, Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Naples and Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick.

The legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in Maine is 0.08.

In 14 motions, defense attorneys sought to block prosecutors from introducing certain statements, photographs and other evidence at the trial, which is scheduled to start Sept. 8 in Cumberland County Superior Court.

In addition to the blood test, evidence the defense questions includes data recovered from LaPointe’s 32-foot boat, photographs of the bodies of Trott and Groetzinger. and statements from witnesses about consumption of alcohol by LaPointe at other times.

Other motions in the case ask that jurors be taken to the town of Harrison to view the accident scene and that the court exclude any evidence the defense may present about the blood alcohol levels or alcohol consumption of Trott or Groetzinger.

LaPointe, who is free on $50,000 bail, also faces charges of operating under the influence and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.