A Rindge man arrested after a standoff with police in June has been given a deferred sentence on the condition he attends an alcohol treatment program and remains on good behavior.
Joshua Whitcomb, 40, of Rindge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal threatening at the Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene on Tuesday. The charge, according to court documents, followed a June 25 incident in which he allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by her clothing and threatened to point a shotgun at her after racking it.
According to Cheshire County Assistant District Attorney John Webb, Whitcomb was intoxicated and off his medication at the time of the incident.
The next day, police attempted to arrest Whitcomb and search his residence, but Whitcomb did not exit his Birch Drive residence for several hours – leading to a standoff with police – before eventually exiting peacefully and being arrested.
Whitcomb appeared in Superior Court Tuesday for his plea and sentencing hearing. In the plea agreement, he was sentenced to six months in jail, but the sentence was deferred for a year as long as Whitcomb remains either in the Granite House extended care program or Queen City Sober Living until successful completion of treatment. He is not allowed to possess firearms until his treatment program is completed.
If Whitcomb successfully fulfills these conditions, his six-month sentence will be suspended for two years, which if he remains on good behavior throughout, the sentence will go away after the two years.
Superior Court Judge David Ruoff noted the agreement seemed “lenient” considering the seriousness of the original incident. He particularly wanted to ensure that the victim, Whitcomb’s girlfriend, was satisfied with the agreement.
“There are troubling facts in this,” Ruoff said to the woman in court Tuesday.
The woman told Ruoff she supports the agreement, but declined the opportunity to make a victim impact statement.
Whitcomb’s attorney, Adam Bernstein, told the court that an alcohol treatment program was the most appropriate course in this case.
“His Achilles heel is the alcohol,” Bernstein said.
Whitcomb has been sober for several months following his arrest, has a steady job with a local manufacturer and is in a long term relationship with his girlfriend,” Bernstein said.
“Obviously, you are in a different frame of mind than you were in June,” Ruoff said to Whitcomb.
Two shotguns were seized from Whitcomb’s home following his arrest, and Ruoff agreed they could be returned to him, following successful completion of his treatment program.
Ashley Saari can be reached 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.