Judge releases Marine on bail

LAWRENCE -- A decorated Marine who saw harrowing duty in Iraq before being accused of firing a shotgun into a noisy crowd outside his Lawrence apartment last month was released on $5,000 cash bail yesterday and ordered to continue counseling for stress.

Sergeant Daniel B. Cotnoir, 33, charged in the wounding of two people during the early morning incident Aug. 14 outside the Broadway apartment he shared with his wife and two young daughters, was released on 14 conditions agreed upon by prosecutors and his lawyers. The bail agreement was reached after the lawyers reviewed confidential reports from Bridgewater State Hospital, where Cotnoir had completed a 20-day psychiatric examination, and results from an independent examination initiated by Cotnoir's defense.

While neither side would comment on the psychiatric diagnosis delivered to Lawrence District Court Judge Kevin Gaffney, Essex County First Assistant District Attorney John Dawley said the conditions set for Cotnoir should preclude him from being a danger to the public.

''I think the course set for him and agreed to satisfies our concerns that he appreciates what he has to do to ensure that we'll be satisfied in the future that we're not going to see this again," said Dawley.

Cotnoir allegedly wounded Lissette Cumba, 15, and Kelvin Castillo, 20, both of Lowell, with fragments from a shotgun blast he allegedly fired to disperse revelers outside a nightclub across from his apartment building. His attorneys, Robert F. Kelley and Robert Lewin, contend that Cotnoir was suffering the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder from his 2004 tour of duty in Iraq with a Marine mortuary unit and felt threatened after a bottle was thrown through his second-story window. Cotnoir had made a number of complaints to Lawrence police about rowdy behavior and loud noise outside the nightclub dating to 1998. His building was struck by gunfire in 2003.

Cotnoir, who runs a family-owned funeral home on the first floor of his building, was named the 2005 Marine of the Year for his Iraq service that included the recovery and processing of the remains of nearly 200 Marines killed in combat as well as four civilian contractors killed in Fallujah.

In addition to the bail, Cotnoir must continue mental health counseling, live with his parents in Methuen, report to a probation officer twice a week, and submit to random drug and alcohol screening. He has to stay employed and can work at the funeral home only during daylight hours.

''We're very pleased," said Lewin. ''The conditions that were reached were reached by agreement. There really weren't any sticking points."

Dawley said the victims and their families were consulted before the bail agreement was reached, but Cumba's sister, Lesly Serrano, who was with her sister when she was wounded, said the family is uneasy knowing Cotnoir is free on bail.

''I don't think it's OK at all," she said. ''We're still in shock. It's something we will never forget. It's something we think about every day."

Cumba and her mother, Naida Cumba, have previously stated that they don't want to see Cotnoir jailed but want him instead to receive the counseling he needs. While Naida Cumba would not comment on Cotnoir's release yesterday, she said her daughter, who was struck in the leg, will carry the shotgun fragment inside her for the rest of her life.

''She's doing much better," Naida Cumba said yesterday. ''But it's going to stay in there forever."

About a dozen of Cotnoir's relatives and friends spent six hours in court yesterday hoping for his release.

Marine Chief Warrant Officer James Patterson, who commanded Cotnoir in Iraq, came up from Quantico, Va., to support his sergeant.

''I think everyone's happy he's getting out," said Patterson.