ROCKLAND – The following comprises recent court activity in Knox County from Oct. 27-Nov. 3, including a man who is on trial accused in the manslaughter death of a toddler and a man who allegedly threatened a woman and drove his SUV into her vehicle.

Jury trial begins for man accused of manslaughter in death of toddler  

Correction (Nov. 5) : Attorney Chris MacLean, who is representing Aziayh Scott, confirmed that his client's bail amount had been reduced from $150,000 to $50,000. Scott posted bail and was released from the Knox County Jail. MacLean also confirmed that Scott lives in Rockland and works at a local restaurant in Rockland. The correction has been updated in the story.

Opening statements in the jury trial of Aziayh Scott, 24, of Louisiana, accused of the manslaughter in the May 2024 death of 22-month-old Quayshawn Wilson in Thomaston, started on Monday, Nov. 3 in Knox County Superior Court.

The jury was selected on Nov. 3 and the trial, expected to last at least one week, began on the same day.

Scott is represented by his court appointed attorney, Chris MacLean of the Dirigo Law Group LLP, in Camden. The lead prosecutor in the trial is Maine Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin. Justice John O’Neill is presiding over the trial.

He was indicted on a single count of manslaughter by a Knox County grand jury in October 2024.  

The criminal complaint states that Scott “did recklessly or with criminal negligence cause the death of a minor child with a date of birth July 7, 2022.”

Scott who is originally from Louisiana moved to Maine and was living with his girlfriend and the toddler in Owls Head.

On May 29, 2024, at approximately 7:26 p.m., Thomaston Police, Fire and Rescue responded to the Walmart in Thomaston for a report of a child not breathing. The child was transported to Pen Bay Medical Center, where the child was pronounced dead.   

A nurse on site was the first to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the toddler, said police.   

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta conducted an autopsy on May 30, 2024, and ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death of was homicide.

The child’s injuries included a lacerated liver and the examiner said in the report that the death producing injury would have likely occurred in the 24 hours proceeding the child’s death, according to the court document.

Detectives learned after going to his residence in Owls Head on June 4 that the couple had returned to Louisiana.

Maine State Police Detectives coordinated with Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service Maine Violent Offender Task Force to arrest Scott, according to the Maine’s Department of Public Safety in a June 5 news release.

Scott was arrested June 5 in New Orleans. His bail was initially set at $150,000 which was reduced to $50,000. Scott posted the $50,000 bail and was released from the Knox County Jail in Rockland. 

In Maine, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Police Say Cushing man charged with allegedly threatening a woman, driving his SUV into her vehicle

CUSHING — Alan Grindle, 50, of Cushing, was arrested Friday night, Oct. 24 and charged with aggravated criminal mischief, domestic violence assault, domestic violence criminal threatening, and domestic violence reckless conduct.

Grindle made his initial appearance in Knox County Court Oct. 27 where Judge Sarah Gilbert set bail at $5,000 cash.

Grindle posted bail and has been released from jail. He will be on supervised release and may not use or possess alcohol and drugs and cannot possess of use any dangerous weapons or firearms.

According to an affidavit filed in court by the Knox County Sheriff's Office, the victim reported that they had argued in the morning and Grindle and she asked if he was going to put his hands on her again.

The woman told police Grindle had allegedly tried to strangle her a few weeks earlier and left a thumb mark on her throat. The woman said he had never been physically violent before that incident a few weeks earlier.

The woman said he blocked off the driveway with his commercial vehicles and intentionally backed his Tahoe into her vehicle, causing more than $2,000 in damages.

Grindle drove away but was later found by the Sheriff's Office and according to the affidavit, he admitted to threatening her that morning.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 25, 2026 for a dispositional conference.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com