Caribou Man Sentenced in Crash that Severely Injured Trooper

A Caribou man will serve 15 years in prison for a high-speed chase in 2020 during which he hit a state trooper with a car, leading to the officer’s leg being amputated.

The Kennebec Journal reports 54-year-old Robert Belmain pleaded guilty on Tuesday to aggravated assault, reckless conduct, drug possession and several other charges as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with all but 15 years suspended if he meets the conditions of his four-year probation upon release.

Belmain was arrested in June 2020 following a high-speed police chase through several Kennebec County towns.

Police said Belmain was driving a green sports car with no license plates when he was pulled over on I-95 in Waterville. Belmain took off down the interstate at speeds of over 120 mph before exiting onto Route 3 in Augusta.

Maine State Trooper is critically injured when hit by suspect in high-speed chase

Trooper Mickael Nunez was setting up a spike mat on Route 3 near the Family Dollar store in China, Maine when Belmain struck him. State Police say the trooper was trying to retreat to a safe location when he was hit and catapulted over the car into a ditch.

Nunez suffered a severely broken leg and went through numerous surgeries before having his leg amputated. He has since returned to full duty with the Maine State Police, with the aid of a prosthetic leg from the knee down, the Kennebec Journal reports. Nunez also serves in the Maine National Guard.

State Trooper Mickael Nunez/photo courtesy of the Maine Dept. of Public Safety

Belmain has been ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution on the trooper’s behalf.

Other charges against Belmain included operating under the influence, driving to endanger, criminal speeding, reckless conduct, eluding a police officer, failing to submit to arrest, destruction of evidence, possession of a scheduled drug, sale and use of drug paraphernalia and operating after suspension of his driver’s license.

The Caribou man also pleaded guilty on Tuesday to unrelated charges, including aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs in Cumberland County on Jan. 5, 2020.