ELLSWORTH, Maine — An Orland man has been convicted in Hancock County Superior Court of threatening to kill another man.

Chad Saunders, 27, was found guilty Wednesday, the day after his trial began. The jury, after deliberating for a total of more than four hours Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, found Saunders guilty of three of the four charges he was facing.

The jury convicted Saunders of domestic violence terrorizing, criminal use of explosives and possession of a machine gun. Saunders was acquitted of a charge of criminal threatening, according to court documents.

The charge of criminal use of explosives essentially translates into an allegation that Saunders illegally possessed explosives, according to Deputy District Attorney Carletta Bassano. Saunders was not accused of actually blowing up anything with the explosives.

A sentencing date for Saunders has not yet been set, according to documents on file in Superior Court. He is being held without bail at Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth until his sentencing.

According to police, Saunders allegedly pointed a handgun at another man on Oct. 30, 2008, at a home on Upper Falls Road in Orland. A week later, Saunders verbally threatened to shoot the same man at the same location. Police found explosives and a machine gun at the house after going to the house on Nov. 7, 2008.

Saunders was acquitted of the alleged Oct. 30 incident.

Saunders’ defense attorney, Matthew Foster of Ellsworth, did not return a voice mail message left at his office Wednesday afternoon.

According to court documents, Saunders resisted efforts to be psychologically evaluated so that such an evaluation could be considered as the state weighed the charges against him. Saunders repeatedly refused to talk to mental health professionals, who eventually decided there was no reason to conclude that he wasn’t compe-tent to stand trial, the documents indicate.

Bassano said Wednesday that Saunders is a military veteran but that she does not know whether he saw any combat while in the service. She said the issue of whether Saunders saw combat never came up in the court proceedings involving his case.

btrotter@bangordailynews.net

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