Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — A Florida man has been charged with arson in connection with a fire at Tater Meal last week. The Presque Isle Police Department received several calls June 10 reporting an older man causing problems in Presque Isle. The first call was from a local eatery at around 9:57 p.m. reporting it was closing time and a man refused to leave the building. Officers Peter Johnson and Brian McQuarrie responded to find a man identifying himself as Norman Holler, DOB June 11, 1944, was refusing to leave the premises because a cab driver had refused to take him to Sebago Lake. The driver subsequently called police, advising Holler had no money for such a trip.
Police gave the man a ride back to his hotel. Shortly after, police received a call from another cab driver reporting Holler had given him a bad check in payment for a ride to the airport. The driver said he didn’t realize there was a problem until Holler left the vehicle. Holler’s address on the check listed a residence in Orange Park, Fla.
Just a few hours later, police began receiving calls from businesses on the Industrial Park reporting various acts of criminal mischief. Officers McQuarrie, Johnson and Roger Ellis responded.
A representative from Northern Maine Community College reported witnessing a subject vandalize a vehicle at the college and that the guy was still around the buildings.
Police received another call from a man reporting a fire at Tater Meal around the same time. Police spread out in search of the suspect. Holler was located on Edgemont Dr. and taken into custody.
During the investigation, police discovered a shed at Tater Meal had been destroyed by fire, a Winnebago, a car and a building at NMCC had been broken into. Damage was estimated at over $6,000. An employee at Tater Meal reported seeing Holler in the vicinity prior to the fire.
Holler was arrested for burglary, arson, aggravated criminal mischief and theft. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or $100,000 surety. He was transported to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton. He is scheduled for a status conference September 18 in Caribou Superior Court.
Police are also investigating an attempted break-in at the intermodal building on the Industrial Park the same evening but did not indicate if the two cases are related.
