State v. Smith

GODFREY, Justice.

Defendant, Philip G. Smith, appeals from a judgment convicting him of assault, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 207 (1983), after á jury trial in Superior Court, Oxford County. Defendant contends, among other things, that he was deprived of a fair trial by prejudicial com ments in the prosecutor’s closing argument. We agree and remand for a new trial.

The case arose out of an incident occurring on November 14,1980 at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. Soon after 10:00 p.m., a woman student unlocked a basement door of Gehring Hall, a dormitory for women, allowing defendant Smith to enter. Smith…