Accident or manslaughter? Jurors will decide next spring after a Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty in Portland Tuesday to charges stemming from a boat collision on Long Lake in August.

Facing Justice Robert Crowley in Cumberland County Superior Court, Robert M. LaPointe, 38, of Medway, Mass., declared his innocence in the face of two manslaughter charges, two operating under the influence charges, two operating a watercraft under the influence charges and one reckless conduct charge resulting from the Aug. 11 collision between his boat and one operated by Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Naples.

Trott and his companion, Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of South Berwick, were killed in the crash. The felony manslaughter charge carries a maximum 30-year sentence, although both Neale A. Duffett, a Portland attorney who represented LaPointe Tuesday and Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson both doubted a guilty verdict would bring a sentence of that length.

That was the only measure of concurrence between the two as they sparred over LaPointe’s role in the crash and whether his bail should be reduced from $100,000 to $50,000. Crowley agreed to the request, but refused to change the bail provision allowing for random searches of LaPointe’s Medway home.

Groetzinger’s surviving children and family friend Meg Harvey watched with little emotion from the front row while LaPointe’s wife, family and friends watched from the back row.

“A tragic accident took place on Long Lake. We extend the deepest sympathies to the families,” Duffett said after the arraignment. “We expect to go to trial and try the facts of the case in the courtroom and not the media or the public. But he has pleaded not guilty, and we expect a not guilty verdict.”

LaPointe’s supporters said much the same in calling the collision an accident outside the courthouse, while Anderson had an entirely different perspective.

“He was intoxicated and he was driving blind,” Anderson said, noting that LaPointe had seen Trott’s boat on the lake before the crash. Trott and Groetzinger were watching a meteor shower at around 9 p.m. when LaPointe’s 32-foot boat with twin 435 horsepower engines sliced diagonally through Trott’s boat, which did not have running lights on.

Anderson spoke after a meeting with Harvey and Groetzinger’s daughter Alyssa, 25, and son Blaine, 24, who declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

After the crash, LaPointe and his passenger, 19-year-old Nicole Randall of Bridgton, were thrown from his boat, which continued across the lake and was found about 135 feet from shore in woods between two lakefront homes in Harrison.

LaPointe is estimated to have been traveling at 45 mph at the time of the collision, and while there is no speed limit for boaters on Long Lake, Anderson said he was driving too fast for conditions, calling common sense the key to determining whether he was operating recklessly.

Blood tests made about 2 1/2 hours after the collision showed LaPointe’s blood alcohol level to be .11, above the legal limit of .08 for operating motor vehicles or watercraft. Prosecutors assert LaPointe had been drinking throughout the afternoon and evening before the crash.

LaPointe’s alleged behavior while giving blood was a reason Anderson argued against the bail reduction as she said there is evidence LaPointe asked a nurse to submit her own blood as a sample.

LaPointe has not been charged in the alleged incident, and Anderson refused further comment on it outside the courthouse.

Anderson also disputed defense assertions that LaPointe, who has turned over his passport, was not a flight risk. She said Massachusetts State Police troopers found LaPointe and his family had vacated their home after LaPointe failed to turn himself in at Cumberland County Jail in early October.

LaPointe did turn himself in at the Cumberland County Jail Oct. 4 and made bail that day.

Duffett asked for the reduction in LaPointe’s bail because it was high for the court, and raising the $100,000 had forced LaPointe to borrow from family and friends and liquidate some assets, which financially stretched LaPointe, his wife and two daughters. Court records show the bail came from using his house to secure the money.

LaPointe’s 15-year work history at Comptel Services Inc. of Holliston, Mass., and lack of a prior record were also cited as reasons to halve his bail.

Because attorneys have been given 60 days instead of 21 to file motions in the case, Anderson estimated it could be May 2008 before the case reaches trial.

Robert M. LaPointe Jr. will be arraigned on two counts of manslaughter, four counts of operating under the influence and one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon in Cumberland County Superior Court Nov. 27.