Saul Smith says he can imagine being in Lane Lesko’s shoes.
Smith, a 24-year-old Hancock resident, identifies himself as a former troubled youth who spent a lot of his life in correctional institutions.
“That kid, I kind of understand because I’ve been in places like that my whole life,” he said.
The kid he referred to is Lane Lesko, the 19-year-old from Michigan who fled from a residential treatment center in Maine last week, before being killed in a police-involved shooting on Peterborough’s Greenfield Road.
Lesko was receiving treatment at Summit Achievement in Stowe, Maine, after charges of automobile theft and trespass. He fled from a trip to Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire with a stolen canoe, stolen pontoon boat, and at least three stolen cars.
Smith has never been to Summit Achievement, but said that his experience at similar facilities in Massachusetts, Michigan and Montana help him relate to Lesko’s experience.
“It sucks when you’re in the system and there is no way out,” he said. “You feel trapped.”
Over time, he said, he grew to respect police, including Greenfield Chief Brian Giammarino, who was a friend, he said.
“A cop at the end of the day is just a normal person like you and me, that wears a badge, but that people hate,” he said.
When Smith was in various facilities, he remembers some trends that lend perspective to Lesko’s situation.
At one of his camps, Lesko said there was only one overnight staffer, and he slept just like the kids. The only thing to keep people from leaving was its wilderness isolation in Montana, probably not dissimilar to Summit Achievement’s location in Northern Maine.
When Lesko was killed, aerial photos obstained by Fox 25 showed what looks like a gun on the ground not far from his body.
Smith says there is no way even a plastic BB gun would have been allowed at the camp, even though he has seen staffers be inconsistent about room searches.
He also thinks that more funds need to be dedicated to helping young kids avoid getting in trouble in the first place. If Lesko had not been charged in Michigan, he’d never have been on that road in Peterborough, no matter what Summit Achievement did.
He implied that many kids in what he calls “the system,” think of isolated camps as a sterner punishment than jail.
“When you’re a troubled youth, you’re a troubled youth forever,” he said. “People look at you different.”
He added, thinking of Lesko, “When you try to get away and you can’t, I know how that feels.”
Brandon Latham can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 228 or blatham@ledgertranscript.com.