BELFAST — A Searsmont man accused of stabbing another man in Waldo July 18 was sentenced to spend six months in jail in Waldo County Unified Court Oct. 15. 

Sean Sullivan, 27, was charged with elevated aggravated assault and violation of bail following the incident. 

A third charge of simple assault was added Oct. 15, the same day Sullivan pleaded no contest; as part of the plea agreement, the charge of elevated aggravated assault was dismissed. Sullivan was sentenced to serve six months for assault and six months for violating conditions of release, to be served concurrently. 

According to court documents, Waldo County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted about the assault by hospital staff treating the victim.

After traveling to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center to speak with the victim, who identified Sullivan as his assailant, Detective Merl Reed photographed the man’s injuries, as well as the four-inch steak-knife blade that was removed from the center of his chest. 

The 29-year-old victim reportedly stated that the stabbing occurred after Sullivan allegedly choked his own girlfriend earlier in the evening, prompting the victim to confront him later in the evening. 

According to an affidavit, the victim said that when he went into the woman’s home to confront Sullivan, Sullivan appeared in a closet and “bum-rushed him,” leading the two to begin wrestling, with Sullivan allegedly biting the victim during the assault. 

Afterward, the victim reportedly left Sullivan’s girlfriend’s home and went to the home of a neighbor. It was only once inside the neighbor’s home that the victim noticed a “bulge” in his chest where the knife blade remained. The victim first returned home to feed his dogs, before a friend drove him to Waldo County General Hospital. He was ultimately moved to NLEMMC. 

Photographs of the victim’s injuries included a bite mark in addition to the stab wound. 

Sullivan was located after deputies traveled to his girlfriend’s home and discovered him hiding underneath a blanket in a bedroom; he was then arrested. His injuries, which included a bite mark and injured lip, were also photographed by Det. Reed. 

In a subsequent interview, Sullivan alleged that it was the victim who had attacked him after opening the closet door he was hiding behind. Sullivan reportedly said that he had the knife in his hand already when he was in the closet, but didn’t know when he stabbed the victim. He also claimed not to know where the handle to the embedded blade was or what had happened to it. Sullivan ultimately claimed the victim must have “walked into” the knife when the victim started hitting him in the closet. 

When asked why he had the knife at all, Sullivan reportedly said that he and the victim had fought in the past and he was a “scaredy-cat,” despite outweighing the victim by roughly 60 pounds. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com