Criminal Mischief (399)
MCJA graduates 62 new officers
VASSALBORO - Maine’s 62 newest police officers have graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. The new officers completed eighteen weeks of study and training. Among the topics studied were crime scene processing, first aid, traffic and criminal law, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Farmington Police Chief Jack Peck, who is President of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, told the new officers to “stay humble, polite and professional. Have compassion, and always be fair.”
Missing woman found, charged with arson
BUCKSPORT – A missing woman has been found … and charged with arson.
The State Fire Marshal's Office says a Bucksport woman missing for a week after her home was badly damaged by fire was arrested last night and charged with setting the fire. 56 year old Aza Jerome was charged with arson after she was released from Eastern Maine Medical Center on the night of Nov. 20. She was taken to the Hancock County Jail.
Jerome was located at the Craig's Brook federal fish hatchery in Orland after police and game wardens had been looking for her since the fire that took place on Veteran's Day. She was taken to the Bangor hospital for evaluation and released.
It is unclear where she had been staying in her week-long absence, but likely she had sought shelter in some buildings in the area. The fish hatchery is 12 miles from her home on Town Farm Road in Bucksport. Fire investigators say the fire caused $50,000 in damage to the house and Fire Investigators say the fire was set inside the home and a second fire was set in a shed on the property.
Fire station vandal arrested in Bangor
BANGOR – A Bangor man has been arrested after breaking a number of windows at a Bangor fire station.
At approximately 1 a.m. on Nov. 15, Bangor Police responded to 289 Main Street (Central Fire Station) because a man – later identified as 55-year-old David Bileau of Bangor – was breaking windows. Upon arrival, the responding officer witnessed Bileau punching out one of the fire station’s garage door windows. Further investigation revealed that six garage door windows had been damaged.
According to reports, Bileau was allegedly belligerent and cursed out the responding officer and a fire fighter who’d stepped outside to help. Bileau was subsequently arrested and charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and violation of conditions of release. He was taken to the Penobscot County Jail.
Alcohol was a factor in this crime.
Maine State Police to start e-citation program
PORTLAND (AP) — Busted for speeding? Maine State Police have an app for that.
Maine troopers are preparing to issue traffic citations via computers in their cruisers. The motorist gets a printout of the citation, which is electronically sent to court.
Trooper Anthony Keim, the first to test the “e-citation program,” tells WGME-TV that it’s easier to type out the ticket than to write it out by hand.
“When they first came out with the program, I was sort of a little skeptical that it was going to slow my process down on how I do things out here. But it really hasn’t,” Keim said.
It’ll be rolled out to all state police cruisers in December.
It comes with a cost of about $1,000 per cruiser, which is a problem for smaller departments. But some of them are hoping grants may eventually cover those costs.
Supporters say the system makes officers more efficient and keeps them safer by reducing the amount of time on roadsides during traffic stops. One of the makers of such systems said they reduce the amount of time for a traffic stop by half.
Buxton Police Chief Troy Cline said the system makes officers more efficient and allows them to be more cognizant of their surroundings.
“It would help the officers become more efficient and effective, it’s just a matter of getting the funds to do that,” he said.
Lobsterman rescues deer from water
HARRINGTON (AP) – A Maine lobsterman hauled in an unusual catch five miles off the coast - a live deer.
Ren Dorr says he was setting traps when he saw a young deer Monday morning. He says the deer had given up swimming and was being carried farther offshore.
He and his crew hauled the 100-pound buck aboard.
Having a wild animal in a confined space could be trouble. But Dorr told the Bangor Daily News that the deer was so tuckered out that he “laid right down like a dog.”
He says it took a half-hour to return to Harrington, where the deer was set free.
Dorr says that he has seen deer swimming before but that this was different.
He says that if he and his crew hadn’t intervened, the deer would have been “a goner.”
Body found in Saco woods
SACO – The body of a man involved in a high-speed motorcycle chase was found days later in the woods by hunters and reported to law enforcement.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 7, two hunters reported that they had discovered the body of a male subject in the woods nearby. Investigators from the State Police and Saco Police Department responded to the scene, located approximately a quarter of a mile into the woods from the Flag Pond Road overpass.
The victim was identified as 48-year-old Herbert Winship of Saco. Winship was involved in a high-speed chase just before midnight on the night of Nov. 2 with Saco Police when an officer directed him to stop his motorcycle in the parking lot of VIP Tires and Service on Route 1 after observing a traffic violation. Winship failed to comply with the officer and traveled northbound on Route 1 eluding police. He parked his motorcycle at Rinaldi Energy on Route 1 in Saco and fled the area on foot.
A Scarborough Police officer found the abandoned motorcycle and began a canine track in an effort to locate Winship, but was unable to find him.
An autopsy has been completed, but authorities are waiting on toxicology reports and further tests before releasing findings. It is expected to take upwards of four weeks before results will be returned to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
No further updates are expected until that time.
Firearm incident at Bangor High
BANGOR – A Bangor High School student was arrested on school property for possession of a firearm and a number of other offenses.
Crime report released
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Public Safety has released its annual crime report.
According to the numbers, crime in Maine decreased by 9.3% during 2018. It is the seventh consecutive year that crime has dropped in Maine for a total decline during the past seven years of 56.1%. Crime dropped 8.2% in 2017, 8.7% in 2016, 7.1% in 2015, 13% in 2014, 8.3% in 2013 and 1.5% in 2012.
Cause of Winslow fire undetermined
WINSLOW - The State Fire Marshal’s Office says the cause of the Oct. 11 fire that destroyed McCormack Building Supply in Winslow will be undetermined. Fire Investigators said the fire started near a building in the back of the complex, known as the pine shed, where white pine lumber was stored.
The monetary loss from the fire will exceed $4 million.
Investigators interviewed about 25 people who were in or near the buildings when the fire broke out about noon on Oct. 11. Those interviewed included employees, customers, and employees of a paving company which was paving on the property.
Investigators said they could not rule in or out any one source for the fire because of the extensive damage.
Man accidentally shot in Bangor restaurant parking lot
BANGOR – A man from southern Maine is recovering after being accidentally shot outside of a Bangor restaurant.
According to reports, the incident took place at about 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Oriental Jade restaurant, located on Bangor Mall Boulevard.
Sgt. Wade Betters of the Bangor Police Department said that the accidental shooting happened when the man opened the rear door of his truck and a loaded handgun placed back there fell out and discharged. According to the statement, a bullet hit the man in the leg when the gun went off.
The man was taken to a nearby medical care facility for treatment. There will be no charges filed.
Chase suspect arrested
BANGOR – A Bangor man was taken into custody following a high-speed chase through the city.
At approximately 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 1, Bangor Police Officer Michael Pina was at the intersection of Hammond and Ohio Streets when a silver Mercedes passed by him at an extremely high rate of speed. Officer Pina pursued the Mercedes which almost struck another Bangor Police cruiser. A chase ensued which lead the officers through downtown and behind the Waterfront concert area. The Mercedes was able to evade the officers when Officer Pina’s cruiser became disabled.
Information developed during the investigation alleged that the Mercedes had been operated by 37-year-old Brian Saunders of Bangor. At the time of the pursuit, Mr. Saunders had active federal arrest warrants.
On Oct. 3, information was developed that Mr. Saunders was at a residence in Bangor. Maine Drug Enforcement agents and detectives of Bangor Police Criminal Investigation Division began a surveillance of that residence.
As a result of this collaborative investigation, Mr. Saunders was located and arrested at approximately 1:20 p.m. that afternoon.
Referee shot by cannon during football game
CASTINE (AP) — A referee who was hit in the face by a cannon blast during a Maine Maritime Academy football game is recovering from his injuries.
The referee was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Saturday.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department told WCSH-TV that an academy alumnus brought the cannon to the game in Castine. The alumnus reportedly loaded the cannon with black powder and a substance that had been made into a wad.
It is tradition for a cannon to be fired with a blank shotgun shell when the academy scores.
Advertisements
Website CMS and Development by Links Online Marketing, LLC, Bangor Maine