A teenager arrested in connection with a November stabbing in Westbrook pleaded guilty to a lesser charge this month.

The Westbrook Police Department responded at 3:47 a.m. on Nov. 3 to a disturbance near the intersection of Main and Haskell streets. Officers found a 17-year-old boy who had been stabbed multiple times during a series of fights among young people. The suspect fled before police arrived at the scene.

Later that morning, Westbrook detectives arrested 19-year-old Justin Neves of Saco. He was charged with elevated aggravated assault and violation of a condition of release. Elevated aggravated assault is a felony, and the initial complaint alleged Neves used a knife to harm another person.

In December, however, a grand jury indicted Neves on charges of assault and violation of a condition of release. The assault charge is a Class D misdemeanor, and the mention of a knife or other weapon was dropped from the indictment. Neves pleaded guilty to those charges March 7 and was sentenced to 90 days at Cumberland County Jail for each. Those sentences are running concurrently with prior sentences, and his release date is listed as April 23.

“The investigation made clear that Justin did not stab anybody, so the charge related to that were dismissed,” said Luke Rioux, the attorney who represented Neves in the case.

Also in December, a warrant was filed for another man connected to the stabbing. Tyrese Collins, 18, of Durham was charged with aggravated assault – a felony. He is also being held at Cumberland County Jail, and a judge ordered police reports and other documents in his case be held under seal.

An attorney for Collins said he was just appointed to the case and was not prepared to comment.

Megan Doyle can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

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