Published: 09/21/2007
Man charged with driving at selectman
By Ethan Forman
Staff writer
MIDDLETON - A Middleton man has been charged with assault for swerving his pickup truck and then his motorcycle at Selectman Christine Lindberg as she was out walking her dog, police said.
John Torname, 39, a carpenter whose address is listed as 74 Liberty St., is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 23, according to the Salem District Court clerk's office.
A clerk magistrate's hearing was held last week to determine whether the charge would go forward and probable cause was found, said Middleton police Sgt. James DeCosta.
DeCosta said Lindberg, who lives on Vera Road, told him Torname drove close to her while she was out with her dog on Essex Street and then again on School Street on Aug. 11 at about 10:30 a.m.
The assault charge implies a threat, but not physical contact.
"His (statement) is he went around her," DeCosta said of Torname.
The two have clashed before over what Torname claimed was Lindberg's interference with his marriage.
Torname said last night his attorneys told him not to talk about the specifics of the case. "It's a he said, she said" incident, he said, adding there were no other witnesses. He also said he did nothing wrong.
"The charges are completely false and the day in court is going to prove my innocence absolutely," he said. "I'm an outstanding citizen. I don't have a police record. I don't have a parking ticket driving in 20-something years."
Lindberg is a 43-year-old married mother of two school-age kids and a full-time student at Salem State College. She won a seat on the Board of Selectmen in May. She is also a member of the Planning Board and has landed an unpaid internship in the governor's office.
Lindberg said she has not spoken to anyone officially about the matter since the hearing Sept. 13.
"Right now, I can't make any comment, seeing that the court had a hearing and they found what they found. It's out of my hands now," she said.
She confirmed DeCosta's account and said she called police on her cell phone immediately after both incidents.
"I have nothing to hide. You look at my statements, they all match up," she said. "You look at his statements, they don't match up."
Torname said he stands by his statements to police.
"There was no way I could have come within 6 inches of her face," Torname said, rebutting what he said was a statement in her report.
Lindberg said she was not injured, it "just scared the heck out of me."
Lindberg hoped this incident would not distract from her work as a selectman.
Torname, a father of two children, ages 4 and 8, said this matter only scratches the surface of enmity between them.
"She's definitely doing this to be vindictive," he said.
She, too, said Torname was being vindictive.
"He's not a very stable person, let's put it that way," she said.
The two residents have butted heads in District Court before.
On May 21, a week after Lindberg was elected, she and Torname tried to take out restraining orders against one another.
Torname wanted Lindberg to keep away from him, alleging she was interfering in his marriage. Lindberg was friends with Torname's wife.
Lindberg said she filed for a restraining order against him to protect herself.
Torname said he was going through a divorce and he and Lindberg have had confrontations in the past.
At the time, Judge Dunbar Livingston denied both Torname's and Lindberg's requests for restraining orders because Lindberg and Torname did not have a direct relationship. However, he offered them some advice:
"You will be well-advised to steer clear of one another," Livingston said back in May.
Lindberg did not think dredging up this court appearance was relevant to the case moving forward.
"Anything he alleges has nothing to do with what he did on that day," she said.
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