PORTLAND (AP) – Nicholas Bennett admits that he stole a truck and later stabbed the stranger who owned the vehicle, but he doesn’t believe that he’s guilty of a crime.

Bennett, who went on trial Monday in Cumberland County Superior Court, is accused of a bizarre and unprovoked attack on John Ohrt, who suffered serious stab wounds, including one that punctured his lung.

Bennett, who had no previous record of violence, has been charged with burglary, elevated aggravated assault, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. If convicted he faces up to 40 years in prison.

Bennett, 22, admits that he stole Ohrt’s beat-up pickup truck on Jan. 29, 2004, but claims that he was trying to return it when he was forced to defend himself from Ohrt.

In her opening statement to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Julia Sheridan said a man Ohrt had never met walked into his living room, stabbed him eight times during a struggle and demanded that Ohrt hand over his wallet.

When the stranger left, Ohrt went to a neighbor’s for help and was treated at Maine Medical Center.

“He had lost a tremendous amount of blood and one lung was punctured,” Sheridan said. “Either injury could have caused his death.”

Later that evening, the prosecutor said, Yarmouth police found Ohrt’s stolen truck and followed footprints to where Bennett was found hiding. Ohrt’s wallet was found in his backpack.

Defense counsel Thomas Connolly told jurors that Bennett did take Ohrt’s truck, which was unlocked and had the keys in it, but went to Ohrt’s Munjoy Hill apartment to return his wallet – not to rob him. When he got there, Connolly said, Ohrt attacked him.

Connolly acknowledged to jurors that the case was a strange one, but told them to keep an open mind.

“You’ve seen a lot of weird stuff in your lives, if you wrote it all down, it would be amazing,” he said. “Harken back to your own lives: People do things that later on appear very odd.”

The trial is expected to last until Thursday.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-04-12-05 0217EDT