PORTER — A Porter man was sentenced Wednesday morning to a year in jail with all but 30 days suspended on charges of domestic violence assault and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs.

Peter S. Macquarrie, 42, was arrested in December and charged with domestic violence assault and threatening to light his victim’s house on fire.

As part of Macquarrie’s plea deal, the state agreed to drop the felony arson charge in exchange for guilty pleas on the domestic violence assault and unlawful possession charges, both Class D misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison.

Macquarrie’s bail conditions include no drug use or possession and no alcohol consumption. He must also submit to random searches and testing, and complete substance-abuse treatment and a certified batterer-intervention course.

Following Macquarrie’s arrest in December, Sarah Glynn, his lawyer at the time, argued that the arson charge should be dropped because Maine State Trooper Brian Hink’s arrest report did “not support probable cause on the arson charge.”

Judge Richard Mulhern agreed, saying that if the trooper could provide an affidavit proving that Macquarrie had started a fire, the charge could be reconsidered.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Peter S. Macquarrie (Oxford County Jail)