ANDOVER — The case of a Maine man accused in a violent July home invasion involving an elderly woman may end in a plea deal.
The July incident took place only hours after the man allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old at a restaurant.
During a brief hearing in Essex Superior Court on Friday morning, attorneys representing Roger Bolens, 25, of Augusta, Maine, and the prosecution, discussed a potential deal. Bolens has been charged with a dozen crimes, including assault and battery on an elderly woman, suffocation and assault to murder.
Police allege that at 1:15 a.m. on a Sunday, Bolens broke into a studio apartment on Lewis Street and attacked a 74-year-old woman while she was sleeping.
Police said Bolens suffocated the woman with a pillow then continued violently attacking her after dragging her into the kitchen, including by slamming her head into a refrigerator door. The alleged assault took place over a 20 minute span.
The victim was treated at the scene and later transported to Lawrence General Hospital.
Less than 12 hours earlier Bolens is also accused of grabbing and attempting to choke a young woman inside a restroom at Karma restaurant, 209 N. Main St. before she was able to break away. That alleged attack took place at around 2 p.m. on July 26.
Bolens later admitted to both assaults, according to a police report. He also told police he was homeless and had been staying in an Andover park overnight.
He was initially held on $250,000 cash bail before being later denied bail after a dangerousness hearing.
His case is being prosecuted by veteran attorney Kate Berrigan MacDougall, who has prosecuted a series of high profile crimes including the trial of Philip Chism, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder and rape of his high school teacher.
Bolens is being represented by Methuen attorney Valerie Fallica.