Jury hears from Dover detective, eyewitness as McDonald's assault case nears end

Champion Sprague testofoed during questioning by defense counsel Kimberly Shoen during Robert Gorham's assault and riot trial on Thursday at Strafford County Superior Court. (Rochester Voice photos)

DOVER - The jury in the trial of a Rochester man accused in an assault during a melee at the Dover McDonald's drive-thru last year heard their first account of the incident from a neutral eyewitness on Thursday.

Daniel Moulton, a local man who works in the security field, testified he was at the McDonald's drive-thru to grab a bite to eat shortly before midnight on March 10, 2018, when he heard a ruckus up ahead in the drive-thru lane.

Robert C. Gorham, 33, of 809 Salmon Falls Road, is facing up to 15 years in state prison on felony riot and assault charges in connection with the case.

Two others from Rochester charged in the attack, Champion J. Sprague, 25, of 18 Stillwater Circle; and Megan L. O'Neill, 27, of Spruce Street, pleaded guilty to all charges earlier this spring and were given suspended sentences.

Moulton said as waited to place his order he first heard some indiscernible confrontational back and forth before there was a pause; a few moments later he testified he heard someone say "I won't get my f---ing order.

Under questioning by Strafford County Deputy Attorney Tim Sullivan, Moulton said he stayed in his car for the moment and placed his order, but then heard something that struck him as concerning.

"I heard someone say, 'She's just a girl," he said.

After hearing the troubling comment, Moulton said he pulled his car out of the drive-thru lane and parked, then walked over to where the melee appeared to have occurred, which took less than a minute, he said.

He said he then witnessed one man with blood on him getting up and arguing with the other group, while another man with a bump on his head was being helped up by a woman as they got into a truck.

He said the group in the sedan was still antagonizing with those in the truck and urging them to follow them out of the McDonald's, adding he heard one person from the sedan saying, "Let's finish this."

He said the sedan then skipped out of the drive-thru lane and took of fast from the scene.

The next to testify, Dover Police Det. Sean Mask, said his investigation initially led him to O'Neill, because the female victim in the case, a South Berwick woman, had taken a picture of her VW sedan's license plate as they left the fast food restaurant.

Mask described how O'Neill and a friend of hers who was with her that night first lied to investigators about the males who were with them at McDonald's, but after Mask's investigation developed that they had also been at Castaway's Bar on Cocheco Street and he had pictures of them all drinking together from surveillance video. Soon after Sprague's attorney called Mask and said his client wanted to make a statement at Dover Police Station regarding his role in the melee.

During cross-examination Shoen hammered away at Mask, asking him why he hadn't interviewed workers at McDonald's that night, why he'd made no crimeline request for info on potential witnesses and why he hadn't put it on Facebook like Rochester Police put out calls for the public's help with solving crime.

"We're not Rochester," a frustrated Mask said. "I was busy tracking down suspects. I don't have time to do everything."

Shoen also derided the detective about telling O'Neill he had surveillance footage of the melee when there was none.

"We're allowed to lie," Mast said. "It's an investigative tool."

Mast also agreed during cross-examination that the fact the victims called police also made him suspicious of the other party, a fact Shoen seized upon as showing his prejudice against her client.

Also appearing for the defense was Sprague, who testified he never heard any profanity during the initial confrontation between the vehicles and didn't recall the tone of the remarks.

Sprague, who was there under subpoena, said as the altercation began he saw the driver of the truck, an 18-year-old Berwick man who was the son of one of the victim's, "going up to Rob (Gorham) and saw Rob fall."

Sprague said he then got out of the car "to protect Rob" and became engaged with the son's stepdad, who had emerged from the front seat passenger side of the truck. He said as the two struggled he managed to get one hand free and hit him on the side of the head twice."

Dover Det. Sean Mask during questioning at Strafford County Superior Court on Thursday.

Sullivan, during cross-examination of Sprague, reminded him he had pleaded guilty to simple assault in connection with his altercation.

He then added that Sprague had also pleaded guilty to riot, which is when two or more engage in violent or tumultuous behavior in a violent act, a line of questioning that drew a fusillade of objections from Shoen who argued that Sullivan was using Sprague's plea deal to convict her client.

Shoen also asked the court to note her objections for "appellate" purposes.

While questioning Sprague she said, "You had no intent (by pleading guilty to riot) that you were saying Rob was violent ... because you didn't see it. Correct?"

"Correct," Sprague said.

Superior Court Judge Mark E. Howard then instructed the jury that the fact that Sprague pleaded guilty to riot was not evidence that Gorham was guilty of it.

The trial is expected to wrap up today; it's not clear whether Gorham will testify in his own behalf.