Man found guilty of assault, tries to escape from courthouse

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (WGME) — Nicholas Carter, 31, ran out of the Somerset County Courthouse in handcuffs Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of aggravated assault on a 14-month-old child, officials said.

After a three-day trial at the Somerset County Courthouse, Nicholas Carter was found guilty.

Carter then ran out of the courtroom and tried to escape in handcuffs.

After nearly being caught by passersby in the hallway, Carter ran through a door, went down the stairs and fled the courthouse.

Outside, Carter ran down the ramp to the courthouse parking lot. He saw people walking in the parking lot and turned to cross the street.

As Carter was running, he tripped and fell. Two jurors were able to pin him to the ground until a detective and court security took him into custody without incident.

Carter was taken back into custody by police without incident, Lancaster said. He now faces escape charges in connection with the incident.

Tim Curtis, a Somerset County clerk, says this was an “isolated incident” and lasted only 45 seconds in total.

If a person panics and runs away, we have trained people who can respond to that situation. And they responded and did their best,” Curtis said.

Court officials said Carter's escape attempt was the second major security incident this year, after the brother of a murder victim attempted to attack the killer in court in April.

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office is one of two county offices in the state that provide court security. This is normally handled by the Maine Judicial Marshal Service.

According to Curtis, Somerset Court security is at full capacity and he does not believe there was a security issue at the court.

“This was not a prisoner escape. This was a defendant who was found guilty and taken into custody and escaped because he was caught.”

A planned replacement for the Superior Courthouse is in the works. Curtis says it will be specifically for Superior Court cases.

He says it will be built across the street from the current location and will feature safety and accessibility improvements, among other changes.