LOCAL

Bear-hoax suspect gets 4-10 years in prison

Elizabeth Murray
Free Press Staff Writer
Lucas Gingras, 30, of Milton, left, appears in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Tuesday alongside his lawyer Sandra Lee for a change of plea hearing.


Lucas Gingras, 30, of Milton pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and reckless endangerment Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington during a change of plea hearing. His three other charges — first-degree aggravated assault, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated assault with drugs — were dropped as part of the agreement.  A man who was criminally charged after he said he hallucinated a bear attack could spend a minimum of two more years in prison, according to a plea agreement he struck with Chittenden County prosecutors.

Gingras was sentenced to 4-10 years in prison, and he received credit for the almost two years of prison time he has served while his case has been pending. At minimum, Gingras could spend two more years in prison and the remainder of his sentence on probation if he maintains good behavior, Judge Gregory Rainville said. He had been facing a potential maximum lifetime sentence.

Gingras' case had been scheduled for trial before a jury in May prior to Tuesday's agreement.

Gingras lit a Georgia Mountain cabin on fire in June 2014 using embers from a wood stove after he said drugs caused him to hallucinate a bear attack, Chittenden County Deputy State's Attorney Sarah George said Tuesday. He had been staying at the cabin with his then-girlfriend Ladonna Merriman, 45, who police say he compelled to jump off a cliff after they fled the cabin. Gingras dragged Merriman from the bottom of the cliff to a nearby car and placed her in the vehicle while he went to get help. Gingras came back with a rifle, and shot the gun from the front seat into the car's trunk when he believed he saw the bear nearby.

Merriman later told police she believed Gingras was trying to kill her. She had been planning to break up with him, according to court papers.

Difficulties for the state's case began when Merriman died in February 2015, George said. These difficulties are the reasons why the three other charges were ultimately dismissed in the plea agreement, she added.

Merriman's death certificate states she died due to the accidental overuse of prescribed medications. George said Merriman passed away before lawyers in the case could take her deposition.

Late last year, a Burlington judge ruled that all statements made by Merriman to police or family members could not be used as evidence at trial since Merriman could not appear and be cross-examined. The three charges dismissed as a result of the the plea agreement were all tied to statements Merriman had given police or family members in June 2014, George said Tuesday.

"From the state's perspective, this agreement is a compromise," George said. "The state believes it's a fair resolution given the state of the evidence right now going into trial."

Lucas Gingras, 30, of Milton walks into the courtroom Tuesday in Burlington for a change of plea hearing. He pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and reckless endangerment.

Members of Merriman's family were in the courtroom Tuesday, but they left after the hearing without comment.

"For the most part, they are disappointed with the resolution," George said of Merriman's family members during the hearing. "Understandably, from their perspective, they believe that Mr. Gingras is responsible for what happened with Ms. Merriman that night and later down the road. The numbers and the law behind this for the family of a woman who is no longer here is hard to understand."

Judge Rainville on Tuesday also ordered Gingras to pay $294 in court surcharges and restitution to the owners of the cabin he burned down totaling $11,958.88.

"Mr. Gingras made a lot of decisions the night of June 17 and into June 18 that were very careless, dangerous and clearly criminal, and I'm assuming he's spent the past two years thinking about those decisions," George said. "Our goal is that he'll spend the rest of his time under Department of Correction supervision learning from them."

Gingras' lawyer Jessica Brown said her client is "extremely remorseful" for his actions.

"Although it's taken almost two years now for us to get to this point in the court process, our client Luke has always been prepared to take responsibility for the fact that he inherently engaged in reckless conduct by consuming the drugs he consumed in the days and hours leading up to this incident, and that resulted in the reckless conduct that endangered Ms. Merriman in the car and the conduct that resulted in the fire," Brown said.

Gingras is jailed at the Northeast State Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.