AUBURN – A 28-year-old Lewiston man admitted Thursday that he beat two city police officers with a bat when they responded to his Pond Road home last year.

Steven Fournier pleaded guilty in Androscoggin County Superior Court to one count of aggravated assault and one count of assault on a police officer in connection with his actions on Sept. 25.

Officers Raymond Roberts and John Fitzgibbons went to Fournier’s house after his father called 911 to report that he was out of control.

They arrived to find Fournier on an outside porch, swinging a hammer and throwing furniture on the lawn, Deputy District Attorney Craig Turner said in court Thursday.

After learning that Fournier suffered from a mental illness, the officers decided to take him to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. When they approached him, however, he grabbed an aluminum bat and started swinging, Turner said.

According to Turner, Roberts received three blows to the head, and Fitzgibbons was struck in the arm and the side of the head as he knelt to help his partner.

One of the officer’s guns fell to the floor after Fournier grabbed for it and loosened it from its holster, Turner added.

Eventually, Turner said, Fitzgibbons sprayed Fournier with mace and restrained him. Both officers were treated at local hospitals and released.

Fournier was also taken to the hospital, where he was evaluated, released, then arrested. He was originally charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of assault on a police officer and one count of refusing to submit to arrest.

All but two of the charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement between the state and Fournier’s lawyer, Leonard Sharon of Auburn.

Fournier will be sentenced after he undergoes a forensic evaluation. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com