AUBURN — A judge ordered Thursday that a Leeds man accused of kidnapping and robbing a Livermore Falls man give a DNA sample so prosecutors can run tests on an item from the alleged crime scene.
White, 30, of 113 Anson Road was in Androscoggin County Superior Court to fight a prosecutor’s motion to have him provide a DNA sample. Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cashman said the sample was needed to determine whether White’s DNA appeared in a mixture of genetic material from different people found on an item at the scene of alleged crimes.
White’s attorney, Allan Lobozzo, argued that the “intrusive” test wasn’t necessary because White’s genetic profile was already in the state’s database. Lobozzo said White’s constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure would be violated if required to give a DNA sample.
Cashman offered to have authorities swab the inside of White’s cheek if that method would be less intrusive than drawing blood from his finger.
Justice Thomas Delahanty II said the seriousness of the charges against White warranted ordering the test. But the judge expressed concern about the lateness of the prosecutor’s request and said he didn’t want it to delay White’s trial, which is scheduled for November or December.
Delahanty also ruled that White would forfeit half of his $3,500 cash bail because he failed to show up in court as scheduled a month ago. The remainder of the cash is expected to be retained by the court to cover legal fees, a clerk said.
A spokesman at Androscoggin County Jail said White is being held in lieu of $100,500 cash, a combination of bails set from different cases.
In court papers, police said in a sworn statement that when Frank Lynch went to buy a car from White in March, White and his cousin beat, bound and robbed Lynch of his $300 for the car. A gun was put in his mouth, his life was threatened and he was gagged, Lynch told police, according to the affidavit.
Lynch told police he was bound with tape and cord and forced into the trunk of White’s car. White and his cousin drove Lynch to his girlfriend’s home in Livermore Falls where more money, about $2,000, was stolen from a nightstand, according to court papers. Police said they tracked down Lynch later and took him to a Lewiston hospital for treatment of his injuries.
White was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury in June on five felony counts: kidnapping, robbery, theft by unauthorized taking, assault and terrorizing.
Donald White, right background, listens to Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cashman speak to Justice Thomas E. Delahanty II in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Thursday morning. In the middle is White’s lawyer, Allan Lobozzo.
Donald White appears in Androscoggin County Superior Court for motions filed in his kidnapping and robbery case.
Supporting Sponsor for Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser, Rangeley Highlander and Rumford Falls Times.
Keeping communities informed by supporting local news. franklinsavings.bank
Comments are no longer available on this story