LEWISTON – A man charged with attempted murder just days before he turned 18 is expected to plead guilty as an adult to elevated aggravated assault in connection with an attack using an ice chopper.

Luke Blair, 18, of 119 Pierce St. appeared in 8th District Court Friday. A judge ordered transfer of the case to Androscoggin County Superior Court where Blair is expected to plead guilty next week to that charge. A charge of attempted murder was dismissed at the request of prosecutors.

Blair’s mother, Pauline, sat beside him in the courtroom. Both told Judge John McElwee they understood the charges and the transfer of the case to adult court. Blair is being held at Androscoggin County Jail.

Blair’s attorney, Richard Charest, said his client was not challenging the transfer, agreeing there was probable cause to charge Blair on the felony count.

After the brief hearing, the alleged victim of the attack, Gary St. Hillaire, 44, of Auburn shouted at Blair as he left the courtroom.

“You’re a coward, Luke Blair,” St. Hillaire said. “Remember my face.”

Family ushered him from the courtroom after the outburst.

Blair allegedly hit St. Hillaire in the back of the head with an ice chopper on June 9 during an apparent random robbery, two days before Blair turned 18. The blow struck so hard that the tool’s wooden handle broke in half, police said. Its blade became embedded in the back of St. Hillaire’s head.

He spent two weeks in a coma. When he regained consciousness, he said he had a dim memory of somebody beckoning him across Bartlett Street. Police found him with his pockets pulled inside out.

The 9-inch-long, three-quarter-inch-wide head wound took 48 staples to close. Fragments of St. Hillaire’s shattered skull pierced his brain. The attack left him partially blind for a time before he regained his vision. He can only walk with the aid of a cane and has a marked limp. His right hand is partially paralyzed and he has little feeling in the bottom of his leg, he said.

He spent weeks at a rehabilitation hospital in Kennebunkport.