The Maine Edge Criminal Mischief

Things police notice: complete lack of license plates

ORRINGTON – The absence of any license plates whatsoever led to an OUI arrest in late February.
Deputy Chad Young was on patrol on Feb. 26 when he saw a red Subaru parked partially in the road. He noted that the vehicle didn’t have a rear license plate, and when he stopped to investigate further he found there wasn’t a front plate either.
He approached the car and saw that the windows were fogged up and there was a woman lying in the driver’s seat. He knocked on the window and the woman, later identified as Katina Van Sinderen, 33, had difficulty opening the window. She started the car several times in an effort to roll the window down before giving up and ultimately opening the door. While speaking with her he could detect the odor of alcohol. She told the deputy that she was from Washington state and retrieved temporary license plates that she had removed – they had been expired for less than a week at that point.
She reportedly admitted to drinking, and Young administered field sobriety tests. She asked him why he was bothering her, according to police. She did not pass the tests to the officer’s satisfaction and was placed under arrest and taken to the Penobscot County Jail for an Intoxilyzer test. Her blood alcohol content was 0.26 percent, more than three times the legal limit. She initially refused to sign the summons, but did so after deputies explained it was another charge if she refused to sign it. She was charged with operating under the influence.

Cross county assist

HOLDEN – A woman was arrested in Holden after police in Ellsworth reported she had struck utility poles with her vehicle and was headed towards Holden on Rt. 1A.
On March 7, Officer Scott Hendee of Holden Police was alerted that a driver had struck a utility pole and was heading in his direction. He located the vehicle, pulled it over in the post office parking lot and spoke with the driver, Tia Achey, 25. She reportedly admitted to drinking. Hendee administered field sobriety tests and was assisted by Officer Jeff Gotreau of the Brewer Police Department.
Achey was placed under arrest and taken to Penobscot County Jail. She was found to be over the legal limit and charged with operating under the influence.

Location, location, location

BAILEYVILLE – Police broke up an underage drinking party that didn’t take the neighbors into consideration.
On March 11, Tpr. Greg Burns assisted the Baileyville Police Department with an underage drinking party which was located at a residence across the road from the police department. Twelve subjects were summonsed for illegal possession of liquor by a minor. The two homeowners were arrested for furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol.

Good neighbors give a heads up

TREMONT – A vigilant neighbor alerted a resident that someone was in her place taking her things.
On March 10, Tpr. Greg Mitchell received a burglary complaint from Tremont. The caller reported that she was not at her residence but her neighbor had called her and reported that three people had entered her apartment and were currently removing property. The caller reported that the person who broke into her apartment was a former boyfriend, Jesse Riggleman, of Portland.
A short time later, Jesse Riggleman, 23, Aleksei Legendre, 19, of Saco and Brittney Libby, 18, of Saco were located on Route 3 in Trenton by Marine Patrol Officer Colin MacDonald.
The investigation revealed that Riggleman had allegedly entered the apartment without permission and stole a large number of DVDs and some clothing. Legendre and Libby assisted Riggleman with the burglary, according to police.
Tpr. Mitchell arrested Jesse Riggleman for burglary (Class B) and a violation of bail. Aleksei Legendre was arrested for burglary (Class B), violation of bail and possession of drug paraphernalia. Brittney Libby was also arrested for burglary (Class B), possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a usable amount of marijuana.
Tpr. David Barnard and Ellsworth Police Officer Paul Gamble assisted in the investigation.

Not wanted, but don’t go anywhere

HOLDEN – A Glenburn man was arrested after some confusion about whether or not he had a warrant. He didn’t. But he was on probation.
Police were called to an apartment complex on High Street for the report of people riding on the hoods of cars. When officers arrived, they found a social gathering of young adults, none of whom knew anything about people riding on the hoods of cars. They spoke to a resident who told police that she didn’t want them to enter because she thought someone inside had a warrant.
They convinced her to bring out the man, who was identified as Robert Sinclair, 21, of Glenburn. Sinclair admitted to drinking at the party. Fortunately, he didn’t have any active warrants. Unfortunately, he was on probation with conditions not to consume alcohol. His probation officer authorized police to place a hold on Sinclair and he was placed under arrest. He was taken to Penobscot County Jail.

Area Wanted 3.17.2010

The following people have active warrants with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office as of March 15, 2010. Please contact your local law enforcement agency if you have information about the current whereabouts of these individuals.

Jason Averill
Age: 30
Charge: Failure to appear, 6 warrants
Last known address: Unknown

Jay Irwin
Age: 45
Charge: Failure to appear, 4 warrants
Last known address: Unknown

See an error? Please direct your questions to 947-4585.

Area Wanted 3.10.2010

The following people have active warrants with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s
Office as of March 9, 2010. Please contact your local law
enforcement agency if you have information about the current
whereabouts of these individuals.

Tanya Wilcox
Age: 29
Charge: Failure to appear
Last known address: Levant

Albert Robertson
Age: 40
Charge: Failure to appear, 2 warrants
Last known address: Eddington

See an error? Please direct your questions to 947-4585.

The Maine Edge Criminal Mischief

MDEA and police free man held captive in motel

BREWER – Maine Drug Enforcement agents and Brewer Police rescued a man being held captive in a motel.
On Saturday, Feb. 27, Maine Drug Enforcement agents received information that a man was being held against his will in a Brewer motel. The victim was allowed to make phone calls in order to collect money that he owed for the cocaine he had received from the suspects holding him.
The suspects had allegedly taken his car keys and moved him from room to room throughout the motel. MDEA agents and the Brewer Police watched the motel as undercover MDEA agents communicated with the victim via text messages.
When the victim was left alone, police directed him to leave the motel and cross the street, where he was taken away by officers.
Police and MDEA agents then secured two rooms in the motel and arrested Terrence Garner, 32, of Bangor, for kidnapping, possession of Hydrocodone and trafficking in prison contraband; Adam Widgins, 32, of Bangor, for kidnapping, possession of Methadone and trafficking in prison contraband; and Sidney Wilcox, 20, of Bangor, for kidnapping and aggravated forgery.
Wilcox initially gave a false name, but agents later found her identification card while searching the rooms. The kidnapping charges were later emended to criminal restraint for the initial court appearances.

Police return wallet and most of contents to 80-year-old woman

OLD TOWN – Police were able to return a stolen wallet to a senior with most of the contents intact – including a majority of her social security money that had been inside.
On Feb. 3, an 80-year-old woman accidentally left her wallet, which contained all of her social security money for the month, at the Kentucky Fried Chicken in Old Town. When she returned shortly thereafter it was gone. However, the Old Town Police Department, with the assistance of the Brewer Police Department and local television media, was able to locate the suspect seen taking the wallet in the surveillance video. Police arrested Cody Brassbridge, 21, of Frankfort, who had been in town buying snowmobile parts in Milford.
On March 3, Detective Tom Adams of the Old Town Police Department obtained information about where the wallet was discarded and located it in the median on interstate I-95. Brassbridge had reportedly overlooked the zipper-pouch on the back of the wallet which contained the majority of the cash.
Brassbridge was charged with theft of lost or misplaced property.
When she first realized the wallet was gone, the woman, who asked that her name not be used, was devastated.
“I felt like someone shot me,” she said. Here’s all my money, gone. I never thought I’d see it again.”
The woman was thrilled to be reunited with her lost property and highly praised both Det. Adams and Sgt. Travis Roy. Adams had returned to the median and located some additional items from the wallet, including photographs.
“They are two of the smartest most wonderful men in the world,” she said. “They went down and picked up what they could find. What gentlemen. I’ll never forget them.”

Itchy trigger finger

BANGOR – A man allegedly shot the BAT bus accidentally when he was showing off a firearm he intended to sell.
On March 3 around 4:22 p.m., Officers Jim Hassard and Chris Blanchard were in the area of State and Essex Street on an unrelated matter when a woman yelled to them from Pine and State Street . The woman, later identified as the driver of one of the City’s BAT buses, told officers that someone just shot her bus and that the suspect was running on foot.
Information was radioed quickly to responding units with a description of the suspect. Several witnesses that were on the bus were interviewed while officers searched the area. There were approximately 20 people riding the bus at the time of the shooting. A Maine State Police K-9 unit was in the area and assisted in searching for the suspect. He was not located at that time.
At approximately 5: 45 p.m., Maine State Police Troopers notified us that they had located and arrested Jason A. Robinson, 24, of Bangor, who was on a different BAT bus that was travelling outbound on Route 2 in Orono near the Kelly Road. Apparently, Robinson boarded the other bus near State and Hancock Streets and unbeknownst to him, a passenger who was on the same bus earlier when the gun was discharged, was also on that bus. The witness called from his cell phone while riding outbound on Route 2 and the bus was intercepted and stopped near the Kelly Road. Robinson was arrested without incident and remains at the Penobscot County Jail. He was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm (a class C felony) and carrying a concealed weapon. There was also an active warrant for Robinson for failure to appear.
Apparently, Robinson was showing someone on the bus the .357 handgun he was concealing in his coat and was going to eventually sell in Old Town when it accidentally went off. No one was injured.


On spring break? Forget to pack your pot plants?

ORONO – An Orono man will be returning to more than just his apartment after spring break.
On March 4, around 12:46 p.m., police were called to Orchard Trails apartments, building 11, after management had discovered contraband in the room. The management sends out notices about the inspection prior to break. When the maintenance person discovered damage on one of the armoires, he opened it and discovered two marijuana plants inside.
The plants had quite the set up, including a fan, a grow light and a timer, all covered by a tarp. Police seized the contraband.
Police have issued a summons for Christopher Bagley, 19, of Orono, for possession of a usable amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. It will be given to him when he is located.

Signs you’ve had too much: vomit – everywhere

ORONO – An Old Town man was reportedly passed out behind the wheel of his SUV over the weekend.
A concerned onlooker contacted authorities when he found a man allegedly passed out behind the wheel of an SUV. Officer Stephen Marko responded and was flagged down by the caller and directed to a black SUV with a man passed out in the back seat. The witness told the officer that he was walking by when he saw the man passed out behind the wheel with the car running. The bystander removed the keys from the car and advised the man, later identified as Patrick Garrity, 56, of Old Town, that he should lie down in the back seat.
Marko observed vomit on the steering wheel and floorboard of the vehicle, as well as on the ground outside of the driver’s side door.
Garrity was only semi-responsive and was dry heaving. Orono Rescue was called. Garrity wouldn’t say where he was coming from but did reportedly tell Marko that he had driven to the spot.
When the ambulance arrived, Garrity was assisted onto the gurney and was still vomiting and dry heaving as he was loaded into the ambulance. Due to his level of intoxication he was transported to the hospital and a blood kit was drawn. He was summonsed for operating under the influence.

Car burglaries

OLD TOWN – The Old Town Police Department is investigating a rash of 17 motor vehicle burglaries over the course of the weekend.
Anyone with information should call the Old Town Police Department at 827-3984.

Local Merchants to Receive Responsible Alcohol Seller Training

Courtesy of Steve Faloon, Public Health Educator for the Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness, a division of Bangor Health and Community Services Department.

BANGOR – To restrict underage alcohol sales and sales to visibly intoxicated patrons, Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness, in collaboration with the Bangor Police Department, will offer a Responsible Alcohol Seller Training with Frank Lyons of BC Consultants on Monday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bangor Police Department. The training is part of an overall effort to reduce underage access to alcohol and is occurring in communities throughout the State thanks to funding provided to Healthy Maine Partnerships.

“This training will give employees the skills and confidence to prevent underage alcohol sales and ensure that stores are operating within Maine’s Liquor Laws,” saidWillow McVeigh, Substance Abuse and Tobacco Prevention Specialist with Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness. “This training can help prevent the kind of costly alcohol violations that have occurred during recent police compliance checks.”

Frank Lyons, a veteran experienced in working with store owners and law enforcement officials, is known for his unique training approach and expertise in Maine liquor law. Lyons has trained hundreds of store and restaurant employees statewide.

This is the first of multiple trainings, the second of which will take place on Monday, March 15, at the Bangor Police Department from 10 to 2 for area bar and restaurant employees.