Editor’s Note: An arrest or summons does not constitute a finding of guilt. An individual charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at criminal proceedings.
HOULTON, Maine — The Maine State Police Troop F barracks in Houlton responded to a number of calls for service during the period of Sept. 26-Oct. 2, including the following.
Monday, Sept. 26
PERHAM — Trooper Rider responded to an address in Perham for a burglary. During the course of his investigation, Tr. Rider was shown a picture of two men loading the suspected property. Tr. Roy assisted Tr. Rider and went to the suspects’ home in Limestone and immediately observed some of the stolen property. He confronted the two suspects and the first admitted to taking the tools from the home in Perham. The second suspect stated it was his fault and he asked the first man to help him get the items. A Forest Ranger assisted Tr. Roy with recovering all the stolen items and transporting them to the Caribou Police Department. The first suspect was issued a criminal summons for criminal conspiracy and the second suspect for receiving stolen property. Tr. Rider later summonsed the homeowner where the property was being held for receiving stolen property.
PERHAM — While working an unrelated incident in Perham, Tr. Rider was made aware by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that they were looking for a man who may be in Perham, and they had a warrant for him. While driving through Perham, Tr. Rider observed the man in a private driveway and confronted him. The man was cooperative and was arrested without incident. Lt. Harris was also there and assisted with the arrest. The man was transported to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton and picked up later by ATF special agents.
VASSALBORO — Tr. Levesque and K-9 Rocco completed their second week of K-9 drug detection school at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
Tuesday, Sept. 27
WOODLAND — Cpl. Kilcollins responded to Woodland for the report of someone trying to steal a vehicle. A female had called 911 reporting that two men were trying to steal her friend’s vehicle. When Cpl. Kilcollins arrived on scene the two men had already left, and the vehicle was still in the driveway. After a warrant check was conducted on the female caller, it was found that she had two active warrants and was on several sets of bail. One of the warrants was a no-bail warrant for a bail violation. The female was placed under arrest and transported to the Aroostook County Jail without incident.
SMYRNA — Tr. Cotton was traveling to a complaint on I-95 when he encountered a vehicle operating erratically. Tr. Cotton stopped the vehicle on suspicion the operator was under the influence. Tr. Cotton put the man through field sobriety which he failed. Tr. Cotton transported the man to the Aroostook County Jail for an Intoxilyzer test with a test result under the legal limit. The man was also on medications which, combined with alcohol, can cause drowsiness. The male was charged with driving to endanger and traffic violations.
SHERMAN — Tr. Saucier received a call from a local business advising there was a male subject at the store that had been trespassed from the location. The male subject was gone when Tr. Saucier arrived but was later found at his residence. Tr. Saucier issued the Stacyville man a summons for criminal trespass.
Wednesday, Sept. 28
ASHLAND — Tr. Roy was invited to Ashland High School where he spoke to the senior class about becoming a Maine state trooper, the hiring process, job benefits and other aspects of the department. Tr. Roy also gave the students a tour of his cruiser showing some of the equipment used daily while on patrol.
CARIBOU — Tr. Martin was traveling south bound on Route 1 in Caribou when he met a vehicle with no plate lights. Tr. Martin turned around; the vehicle then pulled into a driveway. The operator of the vehicle quickly exited the vehicle and started walking towards the house. Tr. Martin advised the operator to stop and walk towards him. The male operator did as Tr. Martin said. Tr. Martin ran the male’s license, which was suspended. Tr. Martin charged the male with operating after suspension and violation of conditions of release because the male was also on bail.
MARS HILL — Cpl. Casavant responded to a Mars Hill residence after a male called to report he had been scammed into sending a wire transfer of $49,500. Cpl. Casavant met with the victim, who advised he received an email reference to an invoice for anti-virus software. When the man called the number on the invoice, the person on the phone advised the victim to fill out a form for the $500 charge to be taken away. Once the victim did, the suspect advised he had accidentally put $50,000. Arrangements were made for the victim to wire $49,500 back to the company to make up the difference, which he did. The victim went back to his bank once he realized it was a scam and the bank flagged the transaction, and his accounts were frozen. The investigation is ongoing.
Thursday, Sept. 29
MONTICELLO — Tr. Cotton was monitoring traffic in Monticello when he stopped a vehicle for not having an inspection sticker as well as loud exhaust. As a result of the stop, Tr. Cotton charged the Monticello woman with operating after suspension.
FORT FAIRFIELD — Tr. Cotton attended training at the Child Advocacy Center in Fort Fairfield. The training was designed to give first responders an overview on proper questions to ask a juvenile in the preliminary stages of a sexual assault investigation in order to schedule the victim for a CAC interview.
Friday, Sept. 30
MARS HILL — Sgt. Clark and Tr. Rider responded to an address in Mars Hill for a report of a man fighting with his brother and destroying his house. After an investigation, the man was trespassed from the property. Later that evening, the man returned to the address and began causing more problems. He was arrested by Sgt. Clark for trespassing and for possession of methamphetamines. The man was bailed from the barracks and was transported back to Presque Isle.
HOULTON — Cpl. Quint spent the day at the Houlton Armory, talking to high school students from three area schools about being a Maine state trooper, the hiring process and all the department has to offer. The students asked a variety of insightful questions, and some had serious interest in becoming troopers.
LIMESTONE — Tr. Martin was traveling north on Route 1A in Limestone when a vehicle met him, traveling at a high rate of speed. Tr. Martin turned around and pulled the vehicle over. Tr. Martin did a license check on the male driver. The male driver’s license came back as suspended because of an administrative operating under the influence charge. The male was charged with operating after suspension and violation of conditions of release because the male was also on bail.
HOULTON — Tr. Cotton was traveling on the Ludlow Road in Houlton when he observed an operator driving suspiciously and noted the operator was not wearing a seatbelt. He stopped the vehicle and learned the out-of-state registration plates did not belong on that vehicle. The operator recently moved to Maine and had gotten his Maine license earlier that day. Tr. Cotton towed the vehicle and charged the operator for the registration violation. Tr. Cotton issued the man a warning for the seatbelt violation.
WADE — Tr. Curtin assisted Fort Fairfield Police Department with a warrant arrest at a residence in Wade. Fort Fairfield PD had been investigating a tampering with witness/victim case in their town and a warrant had been issued for one of the suspects. Tr. Curtin went with the police and arrested the Wade woman without incident. She was transported by Fort Fairfield PD to Presque Isle, where she was able to make bail.
Saturday, Oct. 1
PRESQUE ISLE — Tr. Martin was traveling on the Parkhurst Siding Road in Presque Isle when he pulled a vehicle over for a traffic infraction. Tr. Martin ran a license check on the male operator to find his license was suspended. Tr. Martin charged the male with operating after suspension.
Sunday, Oct. 2
HOULTON — Cpl. Quint was conducting a traffic stop when a vehicle drove past him and then appeared to accelerate rapidly. After clearing that stop, Cpl. Quint found the vehicle in Houlton, saw it was not registered and was operating with an amplified exhaust. A traffic stop was conducted and after an investigation, it was found the registration to the vehicle was suspended for not paying tolls. The driver admitted to knowing his registration was suspended. He was issued a criminal summons for the violation and issued a warning for expired inspection, expired registration, and for operating with amplified exhaust.
