AUBURN, Maine — The announcement Wednesday that David Brown of Paris was indicted on three felony charges in connection with a fatal October accident at Harvest Hill Farms was wrong.
Androscoggin County District Attorney Andrew Robinson issued a statement at 1:15 p.m. Thursday announcing the mistake, describing it as a “clerical error” that should have been caught by his office.
In his statement, he apologized for the confusion, but declined to answer questions from a Sun Journal reporter.
Brown faces a reckless conduct charge. After the indictment, he was hospitalized and remained there for most of the day Thursday, according to his brothers, although they did not disclose why he went to the hospital.
An Androscoggin County grand jury first convened in May to consider criminal charges in an October 2014 haunted hayride accident at Harvest Hill Farms in Mechanic Falls that killed 17-year-old Cassidy Charette of Oakland and injured roughly 20 others, including Brown. The jury met again in June and for a third time this month before reaching its decision.
The ride took place at a Halloween attraction called the Gauntlet at the farm on Route 26. Investigators said it appeared a mechanical failure led to the rollover in which Charette was killed. Seriously hurt was Charette’s boyfriend, 16-year-old Connor Garland of Belgrade.
According to Robinson, he issued a news release outlining the grand jury indictments Wednesday evening and learned Thursday morning that, although the grand jury foreman signed an indictment charging Brown with manslaughter, aggravated assault, driving to endanger and reckless conduct, “in reality they had only voted to support a charge of reckless conduct.”
The document that was signed by the foreman was prepared for the grand jury in anticipation of the indictments.
“The clerical error should have been caught before I issued the press release” announcing the indictments, Robinson said. “I relied upon the indictment signed by the grand jury.”
In apologizing for the error, Robinson said, “We take pride in being accurate with our information and keeping the public informed. The late hour and the speed at which we were trying to process the information (Wednesday) resulted in this mistake.”
From the bench Wednesday, as the media waited in the courtroom, Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren thumbed through the indictments one by one, apparently checking each for the signature of the grand jury foreman. Afterward, the foreman said her grand jury was handing up 54 indictments against 53 people with a total of 144 charges. Warren discharged the grand jury and Robinson issued his written statement to the media.
On Thursday, Robinson made clear that Brown, 55, was charged only with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
In his statement, Robinson said a correct indictment reflecting the grand jury’s actions regarding the charge against Brown will be filed immediately with Androscoggin County Superior Court.
The remaining indictments announced Wednesday were correct.
The farm, which is owned by Peter Bolduc Jr. of Poland, was indicted on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, driving to endanger and reckless conduct.
The charge of manslaughter, a Class A crime, is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000.
Phillip Theberge, 38, of Norway, a mechanic who worked on the Jeep involved in the crash, was indicted on a charge of reckless conduct, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and $2,000 in fines. That is the same charge that Brown faces.
Bolduc does not face any criminal charges in connection with the accident.
On Thursday, minutes after learning the announced charges against Brown were wrong, Bolduc said he found the situation “unbelievable.”
Asked if he wanted to comment on the district attorney office’s error, Bolduc said, “I don’t know if there’s anything that I could say that’s helpful or that would remove any of the hurt from anyone. This has just been the most terrible, awful thing for anybody to endure.”
Brown’s brother Chuck Brown said he was relieved to find out that his brother wasn’t facing more serious charges as a result of the fatal accident at Harvest Hill Farms last year, and was waiting for David to be released from the hospital.
“My brother wouldn’t hurt a kid. He’s got kids. He’s got grandkids. He loves his kids,” Chuck Brown said, choking back tears.
“It’s the worst feeling in the world. We’re all grieving for that girl,” he said, referring to Cassidy Charette, 17, of Oakland, who was killed when the Jeep driven by Brown for a haunted hayride went out of a control at the Mechanic Falls farm on Route 26 in October. The Jeep had been hauling a trailer carrying hay bales and more than 20 visitors when it went out of lost control, tossing the riders off the trailer and into nearby trees.