Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck talks to reporters outside of the Hannaford store in Back Cove on Oct. 20. (Kevin Miller/Portland Press Herald) A man sought by Portland police after allegedly attempting to take an infant at the Back Cove Hannaford supermarket on Friday told police he took the wrong cart by mistake. Police said […]
crime
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Winthrop teen told police dispatcher ‘I snapped’ on night he admits killing his parents
Attorney Walter McKee and Andrew Balcer in Capital Judicial Center in Augusta on Wednesday. (Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal) AUGUSTA — A Winthrop teenager accused of killing his parents last year told a police dispatcher “I snapped” on the night of the slayings, according to court testimony Wednesday. “I don’t know why,” Andrew T. Balcer also told […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Lewiston police chief credits youth outreach for lower crime rate
LEWISTON — The city’s top cop on Monday credited youth outreach efforts for a sharp drop in the rate of burglaries. Lewiston’s residential burglary rates dropped more than 10 percent from 2015 to 2016 and nonresidential burglaries plummeted 38 percent during the same period. It’s a trend. Since 2012, residential burglaries in the city have […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Oxford Hills
Five of ten people arrested in River Valley drug bust plead not guilty
PARIS — Five of the 10 people arrested Wednesday in a River Valley drug bust pleaded not guilty at 11th District Court on Friday. The five suspects who appeared in court were: • Courtney Dyke, 23, of Peru, on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated importation of heroin and conspiracy to commit aggravated importation of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Portland police seek man who tried to kidnap baby from Portland Hannaford
Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck talks to reporters outside of the Hannaford store in Back Cove on Friday. Portland police are seeking a man who tried to kidnap an infant from the Hannaford store in Back Cove on Friday. Police reported that a man walked away with a child in a cart while the infant’s […]
Posted inFranklin, sj-web
New Vineyard man charged with failing to stop
NEW VINEYARD — A New Vineyard man was arrested Thursday evening after a police chase from Farmington to New Vineyard. Devin T. Heutz, 24, was arrested on charges of failing to stop for an officer, attaching false plates and operating with a suspended license, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols said in his weekly report. At […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Bates professor explains why eyewitness IDs not always reliable
LEWISTON — Eyewitness identifications of criminal defendants are often unreliable and can be influenced by many factors, Bates College Professor Amy Bradfield Douglass said Thursday. Douglass, who holds a doctorate in psychology and has appeared as an expert witness in state and federal courtrooms throughout New England, was speaking Thursday in Callahan Hall at Lewiston […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Crime rates down in Maine; Mexico remains high
As crime rates drop across the state, one tiny town in Oxford County stands out as the crime capital of Maine. Mexico, which has a population of 2,681 and bills itself as “the Gateway to the Western Mountains,” has a crime rate that’s 50 percent higher than any other municipality in the state, according to […]
Posted inFranklin, sj-web
Wilton police charge juvenile, recover money taken from town office
WILTON — A local teenager was charged with taking more than $21,000 in cash and checks from the Town Office on Monday, Police Chief Heidi Wilcox said Tuesday. Police recovered all but $51 of the $2,800 in cash and a stack of checks valued at $18,900, she said. The 17-year-old apparently saw an opportunity to […]
Posted inFranklin
UMF officer faces OUI charge
FARMINGTON — A full-time police officer at the University of Maine at Farmington was placed on paid administrative leave Monday following his arrest on a charge of operating under the influence. Christopher M. Chase, 43, of Wilton was arrested Sunday by Farmington police officer Michael Lyman following a traffic stop on the Wilton Road, Shane […]