Lebanon man escapes with no jail time in DV assault

Dennis Prescott pleads guilty to a single charge of DV assault today in York County Superior Court. (Lebanon Voice photo)

ALFRED, Maine - The Lebanon man whose epic seven-minute profanity-laced battle with a Maine State Police Trooper trying to cuff him and get him into a cruiser went viral in December pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic violence assault today in York County Superior Court.
A clean-shaven Dennis Prescott was respectful but said little during the 15-minute hearing, agreeing to all conditions, including no contact with the victim, in exchange for a deferred sentence to be dismissed after one year if he stays out of trouble.
Meanwhile, a resisting arrest charge was unconditionally discharged with no penalty, but the criminal conviction for a Class D misdemeanor will stay on the books.
The wild scene as Trooper Mike Lane sought to get Prescott into a cruiser was all caught on video by an acquaintance of Prescott's and uploaded to Facebook and You Tube.
Much of the video shows Prescott, 21, holding onto a car door handle as Lane attempts to wrest him away and handcuff him.
The incident took place at 85 Blaisdell Corner Road in South Lebanon where Prescott lives after police responded there to a domestic violence complaint the afternoon of Dec. 5, according to Maine Dept. of Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
The video went viral with nearly a million views and more than 15,000 shares within a couple of days of its posting on the acquaintance's Facebook page.
During the arrest Prescott becomes noncompliant with Lane, who in the video can be seen slapping Prescott in the head with an open fist and kneeing him in the back of his leg several times as Prescott clings to the car door handle.
While none of the blows appear to have much impact on Prescott who continues to resist being cuffed, the situation was very tense and very difficult for the trooper, McCausland said soon after the incident.
Prescott finally allows Lane to handcuff him after the trooper pulls out a container of Mace.
Prescott, who also lists a Hare Drive address in Milton as his home residence, was booked at the York County Jail where he paid $500 cash bail and was released later the day of his arrest.
As part of today's agreement, Prescott's bail money was returned to him.
McCausland refused to comment on whether head slaps and knees to the back of the leg are typical strategies with noncompliant suspects, but said that Lane, "showed great restraint in a very tense situation in which he was alone."
Media reports indicated that the address where the incident occurred is also the home of Prescott's mother, and that Prescott's girlfriend called from there after she and Prescott got into a fight.
To view the video click here.