The Maine Edge Criminal Mischief

Sorry, you will go without a fight

BREWER – A man told police he was looking for a fight and even offered to fight with one of the officers. He left disappointed.

On Sept. 21, around 2:56 p.m., Officer Jeff Gotreau and Corporal Levi Sewall responded to a North Main Street apartment house to remove a belligerent individual from the property. Daniel Mitchell, 44, no listed address, met Gotreau on the front steps. Mitchell told the officer that he wanted to fight and offered to fight Gotreau. The officer declined the offer and arrested Mitchell when he refused to leave the property. He was escorted to Penobscot County Jail.

One bail check, two arrested, lots of charges

EAST MACHIAS – Sometimes it does all add up. After conducting a bail check on one East Machias resident, two people ended up being arrested and four were summoned for various offenses.

On Sept. 20, Sgt. Jeffrey Ingemi, Tpr. Andrew Foss and Lt. Travis Willey of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conducted a bail check on Kenneth Davis, 26, in East Machias. Sgt. Ingemi arrested Davis for violation of bail conditions for consuming alcohol and additionally charged him for possession of drug paraphernalia. Ingemi also summoned a roommate, Chris Marie Burgos, 19, for possession of a usable amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and another roommate, Galen Bagley, 19, for possession of drug paraphernalia. Tpr. Foss arrested another roommate, Joseph Miller, 26, for violation of bail after he refused to take a drug test and was found to have consumed alcohol.

A series of unfortunate events

OLD TOWN – A man involved in a car accident became involved in several felony charges.

On Sept. 18, Old Town police officers responded to a motor vehicle accident involving two vehicles on Route 43, near the I-95 on ramp. A vehicle attempting to turn left onto the I-95 on ramp crossed in front of a vehicle being driven by Scott Steele, 37, of Greenbush, reportedly striking his car and forcing him off the road.

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital and may be charged with operating under the influence after the results of a blood kit, but that is just the beginning of the story.

While officers were investigating the crash, Steele was allowed to leave, and he requested his vehicle be towed back to his place of residence. When the wrecker arrived and began towing it back on to the road, a bag full of marijuana fell out. The wrecker driver informed police, who then searched the car, located 14 bags of marijuana, each weighing approximately half a pound and concealed inside military-style containers.

After consulting with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, Officer James Slauenwhite was able to meet with Steele at the Old Town Police Department on Sept. 19, where he was subsequently arrested and charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, a class C felony.

On Sept. 20, MDEA agents, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and Old Town Police Officers went to his residence for a bail check. No one was at home and they wait and observe the house. Steele arrived, went inside and left, carrying a box. There was also a woman with him, later identified as Danielle McCarthy, 26, of Monroe.

Sgt. Scott Wilcox of the Orono Police Department stopped the vehicle on College Avenue in Old Town. Officer Derek Dinsmore deployed his narcotics-detecting K9, Caliber, around the vehicle, and the dog indicated that drugs were present. A search revealed five more bags of marijuana packaged similarly to the ones located previously.

Both Steele and Monroe were arrested and charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, a class C felony; Steele received the additional charge of violation of conditions of release.

No free rides

ORONO – Two women are facing charges for reportedly skipping out on their taxi fare.

On Sept. 25, around 11:59 p.m., Orono officers received a complaint that three people had fled from a taxi cab without paying their fare. The driver of the Old Town Taxi told officers that it was two women and a man and they had run into a nearby house.

When police arrived, the trio had fled the scene, but officers were able to locate two women, Katie Mills, 19, of Millinocket and Kalie Cyr, 19, of Madawaska, in the back yard and covered with dirt and other debris. Police determined that the young women were intoxicated.

Mills reportedly began yelling and swearing at the officers, and she was issued a disorderly conduct warning. When the behavior reportedly continued, she was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct and taken to Penobscot County Jail, where she also received a summons for illegal possession of liquor by a minor.

Cyr was charged with illegal possession of liquor by a minor.

Lost and found

BANGOR – Bangor Police helped some hikers who found themselves lost in the City Forest.

On Sept. 21, around 8:45 p.m., Bangor Police received a call from a 26-year-old man stating that he and his 20-year-old girlfriend had become lost while hiking in the City Forest. They were uncertain of their exact location but able to give some idea based on their surroundings that they were near a power line. Officers Mike Jewett and Sgt. Bob Bishop responded to the area. Jewett used his personally-owned ATV, and Sgt. Bishop used the ATV of an off-duty police officer who lives on the outskirts of the City Forest.

Through several cell phone conversations with the complainant and the use of police car sirens from different road points, the officers were able to direct the two people to walk out to the power lines and then guided them to their general location. Officer Jewett reported that about 25 minutes later, the pair was able to find the officers.

Both subjects were transported back to their vehicle on Tripp Drive and were in good condition, not needing any medical attention.

The Bangor Police Department urges anyone using those trails to be very careful, especially later in the afternoon, making sure you stay on all marked trails and get to know the area before venturing too far out. That trail system is large and can be complicated. Always hike safely and carry basic survival items such as flashlights, water, coats and cell phones in the event of an emergency.

Thug breaks bird’s wing

BANGOR – A seagull had to be euthanized after an area man lured it with food before breaking its wing with a rock.

On Sept. 21, at about 1:30 p.m., Officer Jason Stuart responded to Pickering Square to the report of someone throwing rocks at seagulls. One of the birds was suffering with a broken wing. The seagull was reportedly scooped up by a bystander and placed in a cardboard box.

Several witnesses on scene told the officer that they observed a group of subjects in the park throwing potato chips at the birds, luring them in and then trying to kick them. One of the young men described as the “primary aggressor” was identified as Juan Puig, 21, of Brewer. Witnesses claimed he pelted one of the seagulls with a rock, breaking its wing.

Puig was summoned and released for cruelty to birds, with a recommendation by Officer Stuart to add or modify the charge to cruelty to animals. Puig has a court date of Nov. 3 at 8:30 a.m.

Puig was also served with a one-year criminal trespass order for Pickering Square.

Stuart called the game warden and described the injuries to the warden, which was mostly excessive bleeding. At the recommendation of the warden, Stuart euthanized the bird at a remote location.

Housing scam

BANGOR – The Quinn Agency has reported that they have received two listings recently that have been the subject of attempted fraudulent behavior by persons claiming to the owners. One particular property, located in Bangor, is listed with the Quinn Agency as being for sale, and has a sign on the property indicating such. They began receiving inquiries about the property as being for rent, as stated also on Craig’s List. The property was listed on Craig’s List as being for rent for just under $1000 per month. Quinn contacted Craig’s List and had it removed and advised them it was fraud. The listing indicated that the owners were working at a mission in West Africa and needed to rent their home. Once email contact was made by potential renters, the “owners” requested that rent be sent to them and they would in turn send the keys to the property. The property showed up last week on Adds in USA – same scam. Quinn has been inundated with calls about the property. However, it is not for rent. The fear is that people will actually send money to the scammers. This is not an uncommon scam.

People should not send money to someone unless they know them to be reliable, and should not attempt to rent a property that they have not seen. If a realtor’s sign is located on the property they should contact the realtor for information. Once someone sends money based on a fraud, the money will not likely be recovered, and many of these types of scams are difficult if not impossible to locate.

Man arrested for violating protection order

BREWER – On Sept. 22, around 4:23 p.m., Sgt. Pinette responded to North Main Street to investigate a protection order violation.

Toby Thurston, 50, no listed address, had allegedly violated a protection order by having contact with a Portland woman.

Sgt. Pinette determined that the allegations were valid, arrested Thurston for violation of a protection order and took him to Penobscot County Jail.

Two charged with sex offender registry violation

BANGOR – Police located and charged two people with failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registry Act.

On Sept. 13, Detective Eric Tall of the Bangor Police Department’s criminal investigations division tracked down Eric Hasenbank, 28, formerly of Alton, who reportedly hadn’t resided at 179 Indiana Avenue since at least June 2, 2010. He was summoned for failure to comply with Sex Offender Registry Act, a class D misdemeanor, first offense.

The next day, Tall also caught up with Wallace Moran, 65, of Bangor, who had not been residing at 179 Indiana Avenue since at least September 6, 2010. He was summoned for failure to comply with Sex Offender Registry Act, a class B felony, his third offense.