Thursday, January 3, 2002

Gorman gets jail time for probation violation

Published in the Current

Jeffrey Gorman of County Road in Scarborough, linked by court documents to the murder of Amy St. Laurent, will serve 90 days in the Cumberland County Jail for probation violation.

In a deal with the district attorney’s office in which he admitted to violating the terms of his probation, Gorman will get credit for the time he has spent in jail since his arrest in Alabama Dec. 11.

Gorman was arrested on a probation violation for a car stereo theft in Westbrook on Sept. 11, 2000. His request for bail was denied during the week of Dec. 17.

The Maine Department of Corrections had filed several motions to revoke Gorman’s probation, some of which had been recalled. The outstanding motions were filed Dec. 11, Dec. 26, and Jan. 2.

The reasons given for the revocation were failure to notify his probation officer of a change of address, failure to notify his probation officer of police contact on five occasions in October and November 2000, failure to report to his probation officer on Nov. 19, leaving the state without the written permission of his probation officer, and engaging in new criminal conduct in Troy, Ala.

St. Laurent went missing Oct. 21 from Portland’s Old Port. Her body was found Dec. 8, less than a mile from Gorman’s home. A note in Gorman’s court records indicated that he was believed to have left Maine in mid-November and said he was a “prime suspect” in the St. Laurent case. Gorman was located in his hometown, Troy, Ala., and arrested Dec. 11 after a four-hour armed standoff with police.

Clifford Strike, Gorman’s attorney, maintains that his client is innocent in the murder of St. Laurent.

Gorman has yet to be charged in that crime. Strike told The Current, “I don’t expect him (Gorman) to be charged because he didn’t do it.”

As part of the deal between Gorman and the district attorney’s office, the state will drop the charge relating to the change of address.

The state has also put off any possible charges relating to the events in Alabama, though charges from that incident may be filed in the future.

The Dec. 11 motion to revoke probation was amended and approved, while the Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 motions were withdrawn by the state.