LEWISTON — A judge on Friday rejected an effort to reduce the bail of a South Paris man charged with attempted murder in a Lewiston barbershop where he stabbed his girlfriend’s estranged husband.

Michael Barrucci, 24, is being held at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn in lieu of $200,000 cash or $400,000 in real estate.

Judge Charles Dow ruled in 8th District Court against Barrucci’s motion to be freed on supervised release or home confinement with an electronic monitoring device.

Defense attorney Adam Sherman said his client had walked into Major Cuts barbershop on Cedar Street on Dec. 6 shortly before it closed because he needed a haircut and the next closest shop that cut African-American hair was in Portland. He said Barrucci hadn’t known his girlfriend’s estranged husband was in the shop at that time and that it was a “chance” meeting.

Assistant District Attorney Katherine Bozeman disputed that account, telling Judge Dow that Nicole Robinson had communicated by phone to stabbing victim Rashad Robinson, 35, and had known where he was at that time.

Robinson had told police his estranged wife had “set me up.”

Sherman told the judge that Barrucci acted in self-defense when Rashad Robinson confronted him at the shop, assaulted Nicole Robinson and threw her over a couch. Sherman said Rashad Robinson threatened Barrucci then struck him in the forehead.

“We believe this is a very viable self-defense case,” Sherman said, pointing to Nicole Robinson and her friend as witnesses who would corroborate that version of events.

Sherman asked that Barrucci and his girlfriend be able to have contact.

Bozeman argued that independent witnesses at the shop, including barbers, told police a differing account of events that is “completely inconsistent” with Sherman’s recitation of facts in the case.

None of the witnesses police spoke with heard Rashad Robinson threaten to “cut” Barrucci, she said. Yet, they heard Barrucci say that he had tried to kill Robinson and that he hoped Robinson would die.

When police responded to the scene, they found Robinson lying on his back at the entrance to the barbershop, a large laceration in his chest and a large pool of blood near his abdomen, according to court papers.

Inside the shop, Barrucci, covered in blood, stood holding a brown folding knife. He was ordered to drop it, which he did, police said.

A hospital nurse had detailed Robinson’s stab wounds to include two to his back, one across his chest, one in his stomach area and one under each armpit (one of those struck an artery.) Also during the fight, his spleen and diaphragm were damaged, according to police.

Barrucci was indicted Tuesday by an Androscoggin County grand jury on charges of attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and two charges of aggravated assault.

He denied those charges Friday.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

Michael Barrucci appears in 8th District Court in December at his initial appearance on charges stemming from a stabbing at a Lewiston barbershop. (Sun Journal file photo)

Copy the Story Link