AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that a state prison inmate forfeited his $20,000 cash bail payment when he violated his conditions of release.
Adrian Covington, 42, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with all but 8 years suspended on multiple felony counts including elevated aggravated assault in March. Prior to that, on Dec. 27, 2022, he appealed the Aroostook County Superior Court’s June 2022 decision to revoke his $20,000 cash bail because he had committed new crimes while out on bail, including assaulting multiple police officers.
In his appeal, Covington contended that the court abused its discretion in denying his motion to not revoke his bail because the bail bond did not, on its face, warn him of forfeiture as a possible consequence for committing another crime and violating the conditions of his release.
The bail bond stated that it was secured by Covington’s cash; and the bail commissioner certified that he had explained Covington’s obligations to him, according to the Supreme Court’s November decision.
In March 2020, Covington was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder in the non-fatal shooting of a man in Caribou. After an extensive manhunt, he was located near Allentown, Pennsylvania and extradited back to Maine where bail was set at $250,000.
The attempted murder charges were dropped and instead he was indicted on seven felony counts, including elevated aggravated assault. His bail was reduced to $20,000 cash bail.
On June 13, 2022, the court granted the State’s motion to revoke Covington’s bail, and, after hearing arguments, ordered the forfeiture of the $20,000 as required by Maine law and Covington was held without bail.
Covington said that the forfeiture would cause a financial hardship to him and the family members who loaned him money for bail, who believed that there would be no forfeiture if Covington appeared in court.
Last December, Covington presented testimony from his wife that she had contributed $2,185 in funds to Covington’s deposited cash bail, believing from what Covington had told her that it would be returned if he attended all court hearings.
At that time, Justice Stephen J. Nelson said that $2,185 of Covington’s bail would be returned to his wife, but the remaining $17,815 would be forfeited to the state.
Covington remains in the Maine State Prison and his earliest release date is in 2027, followed by four years probation.
