Local man charged with criminal threatening
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — A local man has been charged with criminal threatening after he reportedly showed a gun when confronted by a VFW volunteer with regard to taking a beer outside early Sunday morning.
The Presque Isle Police Department received a call around 1:13 a.m. June 12, via 9-1-1, from the volunteer who reported he’d seen a man with a gun in his waistband. In Maine, it is illegal to carry a weapon into an establishment that serves alcohol.
The caller indicated he’d dealt with the subject, later identified as Ryan J. Simpson, 28, of Presque Isle, with regard to taking a beer outside. When approached and questioned about the beer, Simpson reportedly pulled up his shirt, exposing the gun in his waistband.
The volunteer indicated Simpson had initially left the VFW walking, but subsequently was picked up by a car, which then headed towards the “bypass.”
Sgt. Mark Barnes and Officer Chris Hayes responded. Barnes located and stopped the vehicle on Maysville Street a short time later. Simpson was found to be in possession of the weapon, which officers seized and secured at the PIPD. A check of the weapon’s serial number determined the handgun had been reported stolen from a vehicle at a Presque Isle residence earlier this month.
Barnes charged Simpson with criminal threatening with a firearm, receiving stolen property (firearm), violation of condition of release, threatening display of or carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm in an establishment for on-premises consumption of liquor.
No court date was available at presstime.
