Despite a protective order, former city Alderman Keith Maynard has tried to contact his wife after his arrest for allegedly beating her with a baseball bat.
That’s what the state’s prosecutor said at his latest court date Friday morning.
Maynard was arrested August 20 for the July 1 attack of his then-fiancee Ida Marie. In the incident, a masked man hid inside the couple’s Cook Street home and beat Ida Marie when she came inside.
Ida Marie was able to escape and call for help, and the attacker ran away.
Maynard and Ida Marie were married four days later. It wasn’t until police began zeroing in on Maynard as the main suspect that Ida Marie found out it was him, according to his arrest warrant.
Maynard confessed to police, the warrant says. (Maynard denied using a baseball bat in the assault; Ida Marie told police her attacker hit her several times with a baseball bat.)
Police charged him with first-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Now, court officials said, Maynard tried to get in touch with Ida Marie through another person, despite a protective order that specifies he is to have no contact with her.
“You can’t pass on messages through a third party,” Judge Burton Kaplan told Maynard Friday. “That’s just like contact.”
The protective order also prohibits computer contact, text messages and answering machine messages, said prosecutor Marjorie Sozanski.
Maynard’s attorney, John Kelly, said Maynard was simply trying to get a message to Ida Marie asking if his daughter could pick up a suit from the house.
The day of Maynard’s arrest, he was able to get some of his belongings from the house, but has not been permitted to return there since. Kelly said Maynard needed his suit to attend a funeral.
“He text messaged his daughter, to check with his wife if it was OK for him to to have the suit brought to him,” Kelly said after court.
Kelly said it was Maynard’s only attempt to contact Ida Marie.
But Ida Marie’s sister, Jennifer Lucarelli, said Maynard tried several times to contact Ida Marie.
Lucarelli said messages have gotten through to Ida Marie, but she wouldn’t disclose the content of those messages.
“My sister has faith in God and the support of her wonderful friends and family to guide her through her nightmare,” Lucarelli said.
Brother Granted Access
Before continuing the case to Oct. 15, Judge Kaplan agreed Friday to allow Maynard’s brother, who owns the Cook Street home with Maynard, to have access to a detached garage and swimming pool on the property.
The court protective order does not apply to Maynard’s brother. But Kelly said the brother has been willing to stay away from the home in order to help keep the peace while the case works its way through court.
However, the brother’s tools are stored in the garage, Kelly said, and he needs to maintain the pool while Keith Maynard is not living at the home.
Kaplan also arranged to allow Maynard to enter the home one more time, again with a police escort, to retrieve more of his clothing.
When Maynard went into the home on Aug. 20, he took summer clothing with him, Kelly said. Now he needs to retrieve his fall and winter clothes from the home.
Sozanski said she had spoken with Ida Marie, who understood the necessity for Maynard to get his clothes and agreed to another visit.
After court, Ida Marie declined to comment; Lucarelli gave a statement from the family.
“We have faith in the legal system and believe justice will be served,” Lucarelli said.
“We believe the justice system will hold Mr. Maynard accountable for his brutal and violent actions, and I hope the city of Ansonia and the State Department of Transportation (where Maynard is a supervisor) also hold him accountable,” Lucarelli said.
The day before his arrest, Maynard stepped down from the Board of Aldermen. He has been on paid administrative leave at the DOT since his arrest.
