Lebanon tavern beating suspect gets five months

Gilbert Perez

ALFRED, Maine - More than two years after it occurred, the infamous Trains Tavern beating case of January 2012 is finally closed.

The final defendant in the case, Gilbert Perez, 30, of Moody, but who lists a Milton Mills mailing address, agreed to a plea deal late last week which will put him behind bars for five months.

Perez pleaded guilty to a single charge of felony aggravated assault before York County Superior Court Justice Paul Fritzsche and was sentenced to three years in state prison, with all but five months suspended. He then faces two years of probation.

Jason Mowry during a court appearance in the assault case. (Lebanon Voice file photo)

The co-defendant in the case, Jason Mowry, 34, of Acton, pleaded guilty before York Superior Court Judge John O'Neil in September 2012 to two counts of simple assault as part of a negotiated plea deal and received a one-year suspended jail term.

As part of that deal Mowry had to pay restitution of about $7,500 to the Berwick man who was the victim of the beating.

Perez has no such restitution order despite having delivered the more injurious blow, according to O'Neil.

O'Neil said at Mowry's sentencing that videotape from Trains Tavern security cameras showed Mowry walking away after knocking then-44-year-old Jason Moreland of Berwick to the ground with a single punch after which Perez kicked Moreland in the head so hard Perez' shoe came flying off his foot.

Perez, meanwhile, who began his five-month jail term at York County Jail in Alfred on Friday, is on a deferred sentence in connection with his chase in Milton Mills several years ago in which former Milton Police Office Andy Crone was severely injured and left unable to continue his career in law enforcement.

Crone is now on the Milton School Board and active in the Nute Ridge Bible Chapel Awana program.

Andy Crone (Lebanon Voice)

In March 2011 then-Officer Crone stopped Perez after he ran a stop sign at Church Street in Milton Mills, and as Crone approached Perez' truck, he reportedly sped down Willey Road toward Wakefield.

Crone pursued Perez in a high-speed chase but lost control of his cruiser and struck a tree in Wakefield.

Crone was airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he was treated for a broken leg and fractured ribs.

Crone resigned from the Milton Police Department in August 2012 due to his injuries.

Moreland, meanwhile, continues his slow recovery from the brutal beating that left him lying in a snowbank that night back in January 2012 after he and an acquaintance got into an argument inside Trains Tavern with Perez and Mowry. The altercation continued in the tavern parking lot.

Jason Moreland continues a slow recovery. (Lebanon Voice file photo)

The brutal beating, which occurred shortly after Trains Tavern opened late in 2011, made for a rocky start to the fledgling business, but the bar and restaurant have recovered to become a popular spot in town and have had little subsequent problems with law enforcement.

Trains Tavern had their first permanent Special Amusement Ordinance approved by Lebanon selectmen last year.

Mowry, finally, appears to have made good on his promise of good behavior as no new charges have come to light since his plea deal.