ROCKLAND — The following comprises recent court activity in Knox County, including the sentencing of a man for manslaughter in a 2024 Cushing murder, court updates regarding a man who allegedly drove a plow truck too close to protestors, and two suspects charged for the unauthorized dissemination of private, sexually explicit images of a minor.

Man sentenced for Cushing murder in July 2024

Jason Goucher Hewett, 41, of Fayette, was formally sentenced March 10 to 14 years in prison with all but four years suspended for the shotgun slaying in July 2024 in Cushing of Kyle MacDougall, 45, of Waldoboro.

Hewitt will be on probation for four years following the completion of his prison term. He is receiving credit for time already served since his arrest on July 16, 2024 on the manslaughter charge after he was involved in a high-speed pursuit with the Maine State Police that ended on Route 3 in Augusta.

The sentencing was held on March 10 in Knox County Superior Court before Justice Patrick Larson.

Hewitt was scheduled to go to trial in early March and jury selection had been scheduled to begin March 2. The trial was expected to have lasted two weeks. On March 2, he entered the Alford plea where in criminal court, it is a plea where a defendant does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence, but accepts the imposition of a sentence. 

MacDougall was shot in the neck with a shotgun on July 12, 2024, inside a trailer in Cushing after he got into an argument with Hewett. Witnesses told police MacDougall had gone into the trailer to buy drugs and a dispute with Hewett escalated over a truck when Hewett learned that MacDougall had messed with his vehicle by loosening the lug nuts and owed him money, according to the court affidavit.

Police located Hewett on July 16 to arrest him, which lead to a pursuit on Route 32 in Windsor by the Maine State Police. Hewett traveled north on Route 32 toward China, took Route 3 toward Augusta and in an effort to avoid the spike mats placed on the road, he drove into a ditch and onto the lawn of Nadeau Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

Hewett then barricaded himself inside his vehicle and after four hours of negotiations, he surrendered and was arrested without incident. He has remained in jail since his arrest, according to the court documents.

Rockland man arrested for driving a plow truck too close to protesters, causing snow, ice to knock some down

Update: Michael Robinson, 65, of Rockland, who was arrested for felony reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and driving to endanger on Feb. 21 for driving his plow truck (with the plow down) close to citizens gathered in a downtown park will make his initial appearance in Knox County Court April 13. He was released after posting $1,000 bail on Feb. 21.

The police affidavit has not yet been filed in Knox County Court.

Police said that Robinson drove his plow truck too close too approximately 75 citizens at Chapman Park and his action caused snow and ice to strike multiple people, some with enough force to knock them to the ground.

The Rockland Police Dept. issued the following news release concerning the arrest of Robinson and additional incidents of criminal activity targeting those exercising their First Amendment rights.

Two men arrested for the dissemination of private, sexually explicit materials involving young women and girls

Update: Patrick Corcoran, 25, of Rockland, who was arrested by Rockland Police on Friday, Feb. 6, on a warrant for one count of felony possession of sexually explicit material of a minor and multiple counts of unauthorized dissemination of private images will make his initial appearance in Knox County Court April 13.

Corcoran was released on $2,500 cash bail on the same day of his arrest on Feb. 6.

The arrest comes after a months-long investigation by Rockland's Criminal Investigations Division into the online distribution of hundreds of nude images, including images of teenage girls, who were younger than 18 years old when the photographs were taken.

The investigation began in April 2025 into the unlawful dissemination of certain private images on a Discord server/chatroom, according to the affidavit filed in Knox County Court by Rockland Police.

The second suspect, Keegan Fitzgerald, 24, of Bangor, was arrested on Feb. 12 charged with the unauthorized dissemination of certain private images will make his initial appearance in Knox County Court on May 7.

Fitzgerald was arrested in Penobscot County and taken to the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor. He was released on $500 cash bail on the same day of his arrest May 7.

The complaint alleges Fitzgerald disseminated the photographs and a video of a woman in the fall of 2023 and who was 15 to 17 years old when the photos and videos were taken. The victim is now 23.

Fitzgerald admitted he had taken the photos and video and said he only sent them to one other person and denied posting them on Discord. He said he had an addiction to pornography and admitted to trading nude photographs of females he knew from high school 50 to 100 times through private messages on Discord, according to the court affidavit.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com