Judge adds accountability to YouTuber's sentence

OSSIPEE — A Carroll County Superior Court judge reluctantly sentenced YouTube star Erik Conover, who hit a Bartlett police officer with his Jeep last spring, to four to 10 years in prison last Friday, saying he wished the plea deal could have resulted in a stiffer sentence.

In a rare move, the judge called attorneys into chambers to negotiate provisions to the sentence. The original plea deal gave Conover 4-10 years to be served immediately. He got 234 days of pretrial confinement credit.

Defense attorneys and County Attorney Keith Blair said the deal was appropriate as the incident was the result of a mental health episode caused by Conover going off his meds.

Patrol Officer Cameron Emmett of Bartlett expressed disappointment with the deal, and Attorri wasn’t comfortable with it either. He asked repeatedly whether the sentence would prevent Conover from having another episode, and apparently the answers were not sufficient.

After the attorneys returned from the private discussion with the judge, Attorri said that upon release Conover must have continued mental health treatment, and proof of compliance must be given to the County Attorney’s Office every 90 days.

“I will say with considerable reservation, I will accept this agreement,” said Attorri upon returning to the bench. adding, “The only reason that I’m going to do that is because I believe that Mr. Conover’s criminal responsibility at the time of this terrible event was reduced. Were it not for that, I wouldn’t entertain anything approaching the (light) sentencing that is being recommended to me.”

Conover also got a 5-to-10-year suspended sentence for reckless conduct.

The indictments for which Conover was sentenced stem from incidents on March 15 that took place after Emmett attempted to pull Conover over for speeding. After Emmett pulled his cruiser directly in front of Conover’s Jeep, Conover backed up and then accelerated, shoving the officer, who has since returned to duty, at least 30 feet, according to Blair. After hitting Emmett, Conover led police on a chase.

In his victim impact statement, Emmett said while he knew the job had risks, he was unprepared for the realization that another human being would attempt to run him over.

“I want it to be very clear to the court: I am not satisfied with the plea agreement, nor with how this case has been handled by the County Attorney’s Office,” said Emmett. “This is not the outcome I hoped for, and it is not the outcome that reflects the severity of what happened. A police officer being run down intentionally during the course of duty is not a minor incident.”

Emmett called for accountability for Conover. “I do ask that the court fully consider the seriousness of the defendant’s actions and the lasting damage he caused, not just to me personally, but to the trust and safety of every officer who puts on a uniform,” said Emmett.

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The case was prosecuted by Blair. Conover was flanked in the courtroom by a legal team of three: Nicholas Howie of Salem, Robert Alessi of New York City and Greg Johnson of Boston.

Blair called the sentence appropriate because Conover is taking responsibility and the sentence balances punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation. Restitution will be determined at a future hearing.

Prior to sentencing, Alessi went into detail explaining the circumstances leading up to the assault. “He’s pled guilty to the charges, and nothing I’m about to say is in any way to again obfuscate or undercut that,” said Alessi. He said Conover had no prior criminal history.

In 2020, he was diagnosed with “mood disorders” including being bipolar. In 2024, his medications were adjusted, and he stabilized. At that point, he wanted to go to the Amen Clinic for a brain scan to further understand his condition. He was told to stop his medication for the first scan, which was done on March 7, and a second scan on March 12.

“You go off antipsychotic medications, particularly with the history, even though he was controlled with it, and the mania returns,” said Alessi.

On March 15, Conover was driving from New York to New Hampshire to visit a cousin’s son who happens to work as a police officer. Along the way, in Connecticut, Conover legally purchased marijuana, which made his mental health worse.

“He believed that the police officers were going to do him harm,” said Alessi.

Conover spoke of his remorse and tried to explain his actions on the day in question.

“I would like the opportunity to apologize to Officer Cameron Emmett and his family for my actions on the day. I’d also like to apologize to all the police officers involved in the case, especially Brian Moffitt,” said Conover. “I deeply regret my actions on March 15, 2025. As the court, the prosecutor and the police are fully aware, I was suffering from a mental health incident, an acute bipolar, manic episode that contributed to my actions, my decision made on that day.”

Conover’s YouTube channel, Erik Van Conover, has 2.81 million subscribers. Its description states: “Merging architecture, sacred geometry, and AI-consciousness evolution — this channel explores homes built for energetic resonance and human expansion.”