AUBURN — A Lewiston man charged with aggravated attempted murder in the September stabbing of a police officer is seeking to have his trial moved out of Androscoggin County.

Jonathan Order, 28, of 113 College St. filed a motion to change the location because pretrial publicity from local newspaper and television stations repeated information contained in a police affidavit, according to court papers. Without legal training and experience, most people sitting as jurors wouldn’t be able to overcome their biases toward this case, the motion says.

Because the victim named in the case is a local police officer, local residents would be expected to guard the safety of their community law enforcement officers who are on duty, the motion reads. In order to pick a fair cross section of Androscoggin County for jurors, those who live in Lewiston couldn’t be eliminated, according to the motion.

According to Maine law, a court must transfer a criminal proceeding to a different county if the defense were to present a satisfactory showing that so great a prejudice exists within the county that the defendant cannot receive a fair and impartial trial, the motion says.

The Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office objects to the motion, according to court papers.

The results of a mental examination of Order haven’t been received by the court, according to court documents. The exam was requested by the defense to understand Order’s mental state at the time of the stabbing to help determine his level of criminal responsibility. 

Attorneys met with a judge last week to discuss the case and its likelihood of going to trial. A settlement conference with a judge not assigned to preside over the trial is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Order has pleaded not guilty in Androscoggin County Superior Court to nine felony charges and four misdemeanors.

He was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury on the 13 counts stemming from the stabbing of Lewiston Police Cpl. Michael Dumond on Sept. 19 at Order’s second-floor apartment.

Dumond was stabbed five times in his hand, chest and back, according to a police affidavit. He was hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening and is back to full duty.

Order, whose bail was set at $1 million cash, is being held without bail at Androscoggin County Jail on two unrelated cases.

The grand jury handed up an indictment, including the following charges: aggravated attempted murder; two counts of aggravated assault; four counts of assault on an officer; domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon; domestic violence criminal threatening, trafficking in prison contraband, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, violation of condition of release and domestic violence assault.

One of the felony charges is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Dumond was stabbed during the early-morning hours while he and other officers negotiated with Order, who was suspected of domestic violence abuse, according to court documents.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com