Disturbance call leads to stabbing investigation

BANGOR - Police received a disturbance call from 69 First St. in Bangor around 1:45 a.m. on May 22. When they arrived, officers found an injured man who was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The man, later identified as 38-year-old Andy D. Smith of Bangor, died at the hospital. An autopsy revealed he was stabbed to death.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to call the Bangor Police Department at 947-7382. Those who wish to remain anonymous should press 6 to use the tip line.

Bangor man robbed after accepting a ride 

BANGOR - An evening at a local downtown bar in Bangor turned scary for one 33-year-old Bangor man who was reportedly choked and robbed after accepting a ride home from an acquaintance.

The man, who was not identified, told Officer Taylor Bagley that when the bar closed Sunday morning at around 1:15 a.m., he accepted a ride from an acquaintance he knew only as 'Scott.' When he got into the man's silver van, he noticed a younger man and three women already inside the vehicle.

The victim told police the younger man choked him from behind until he lost consciousness. He awoke in the parking lot of Angelo's Pizzeria on Hammond Street as the van took off. The victim eventually flagged down a passing motorist and used her cell phone to call police.

New Hampshire man faces OUI charges

ORONO A New Hampshire man is facing charges after witnesses alerted police about an erratic driver.

Police received a call about a green mini van that had struck a curb and nearly struck another vehicle before leaving Orchard Trails apartment complex in the early morning of April 28. Officer Dan Merrill was responding when he saw a vehicle matching the description pull onto Mill Street and park.

He spoke with the driver, Christopher Lucia, 26, of Summersworth, NH, and determined he had been consuming alcohol. Merrill administered field sobriety tests and placed Lucia under arrest for operating under the influence. Lucia was taken to Penobscot County Jail and charged with OUI. He was also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia when police found a glass marijuana pipe in the center console while conducting an inventory search of the vehicle.

Florida police nab fled felons

PLYMOUTH Police locate two people on the lam.

Back on Jan. 9, Deputy James Kennedy investigated a burglary on the Lower Detroit Road where four firearms, a hunting bow, hunting knives, ammunition and a tool box were reported stolen.

On Jan. 10, Detective Robert Jordan interviewed Becky Cookson, 37 and Charles Burns, 42, both of Plymouth, and recovered three of the stolen firearms along with other property as a result.

Both Burns and Cookson were indicted in March by a Penobscot County Grand Jury for class B burglary and class B theft. Both felonies and warrants were issued for their arrest, but the pair had fled the state.

On April 13, Burns and Cookson were apprehended by Fort Lauderdale police on those warrants and are currently awaiting extradition back to Maine to face the charges.

Methadone, slightly used

BANGOR Police arrested a Bangor man for allegedly making threats against staff of a local clinic.

On April 11, around 6:30 a.m., officers responded to the Penobscot County Metro Treatment facility on Hogan Road where a man had reportedly threatened staff.

Officer Steve Pelletier learned that Jason Gilbert, 39, of Bangor was told by staff to leave the property. Staff told police that Gilbert had been asked to leave because they learned that the last time he received methadone, he allegedly made himself sick to vomit up the dose he had ingested, to he could give it to another person the previous Saturday.

When confronted by the staff Gilbert made threatening statements. He was arrested and charged with class D terrorizing.

Orono new hire and promotion

ORONO The Orono Police Department has recently hired Sarah Exley, 26, to fill the open patrol position at the department.

This is Exley's first position in law enforcement. She applied for the job after she realized she wanted her career to go in a different direction.

'I wanted a change of career and wanted something that involved the community more,' she said. '[Orono] is very busy, but also has that small community feel to it. People walk down Main Street and know each other.'

According to Captain Josh Ewing, Exley was a stand-out applicant from the beginning.

Internet Safety Night at Orono High School

ORONO The Orono Police Department and Orono High School, in conjunction with the Husson University Criminal Justice Program, will be offering a program to all interested parents, caregivers and community members on keeping kids safe online.

This presentation is aimed at helping parents and caregivers become more aware of the potential online risks and empower them to make safe and smart choices. Most importantly, it will encourage educated communication between adults and their children regarding the Internet.

For more information, contact Orono Police Department at 866-4000 or Orono High School at 866-4916.

Stealing the show UPDATE

BANGOR Police have charged a man in connection with the thefts during a play at Bangor High School.

On March 28, Sgt. Brad Johnston and Officer Brandon Vafiades of the department's Special Enforcement Team (SET), located and interviewed Robert Coulombe, 57, of Veazie, in connection with the theft of personal items taken from actors/actresses backstage at a play that was being conducted at Bangor High School this past Sunday. The department received several tips from the public since Monday's press release that included images from the high school surveillance showing a male subject callers believed to be Coulombe.

Coulombe agreed to meet the officers at the Bangor Police Department when he complained that several friends and family members pestered him as to why he was on television and in the newspaper.

After a brief interview, Coulombe was summoned for class E misdemeanor theft and transported to a local emergency room at his request for an unrelated medical issue.

Heroic bystander stops vicious assault

ORONO A man who witnessed four men assaulting a prone person with a baseball bat intervened and stopped the beating, according to police.

On March 17, around 11:14 p.m., Officer Jason Zalva was informed that there was a fight happening on in front of Dick's Barber Shop on Mill Street and that one man had been assaulted by four others, one of whom was wielding a baseball bat. The men had fled before police arrived due to a bystander coming to the defense of the victim.

According to police, when the bystander saw the four men attacking the victim, he ordered the man holding the baseball bat to stop. When it appeared that the man was going to attempt to strike the prone victim, the unidentified bystander grabbed the man with the bat and pulled him away. When another man also acted aggressively towards him, he pulled that man off the victim as well. The other two then dispersed.

Shooting in Lamoine 

LAMOINE Police are investigating a shooting that happened outside of a house in Lamoine on March 11. One man has died and three others were injured, with one remaining in critical condition at the hospital. A fifth man was present at the house, but was not injured.

Maine State Police detectives are currently investigating the shootings.

The Maine Edge does not publish the names of victims without an overwhelming public need.