Bangor Daily News
WISCASSET, Maine — Nobleboro Fire Chief Ryan Gallagher pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 to assault and obstructing the report of a crime or injury. A domestic violence assault charge against him was dismissed.
Gallagher, 41, of Damariscotta was arrested Aug. 29, 2014, by Damariscotta police Officer Devin Polizzotti and originally charged with domestic violence assault.
Polizzotti said he was responding to Gallagher’s home to check on a 911 hang-up call.
Polizzotti said at the time that after speaking to people at the home, “there was evidence that one of the parties involved had been assaulted, and according to Maine statute, I arrested [Gallagher] for domestic violence assault.”
Gallagher was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and was released the same day on $1,000 unsecured bail, jail staff said at the time.
A supplementary complaint charging Gallagher with assault and obstruction — offenses also said to have occurred on or about Aug. 29, 2014, but against a different victim — was filed in November 2014.
Justice Daniel Billings accepted Gallagher’s guilty pleas on Feb. 27 in Lincoln County Superior Court, but sentencing in the matter was deferred for 12 months.
If Gallagher meets the conditions of a deferred disposition agreement, including refraining from all criminal conduct and continuing psychological counseling, he will pay a $300 fine for the assault and a $250 fine for the obstructing charge.
If Gallagher fails to meet the conditions, he will be subject to an open plea on both charges, meaning he could face 364 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine on each charge.
Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Liberman, the prosecutor in the case, declined to comment on details of the allegations against Gallagher but said he dismissed the domestic assault charge because “the victim of the domestic violence assault charge was uncooperative with the prosecution, and had since reported … that she didn’t remember significant details of the underlying incident.”
“The likelihood of a successful prosecution on that charge had greatly diminished,” Liberman said.
Gallagher’s attorney, William Avantaggio, had no comment on the case.
Dick Spear, chairman of the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen, said he did not believe the criminal charges relate to Gallagher’s role as fire chief for the town, but he will likely bring up the case to his fellow selectmen.
“I’ve talked with Ryan and understood what happened, and I think he’s a real good asset to the town to be the fire chief,” Spear said.
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