PI man charged in assault on officer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After resisting a no-trespassing order Wednesday, a 76-year-old man operating a front-end loader allegedly pushed a Presque Isle police sergeant off the machine and tried to drive away.
Geary Bonville, a longtime trucker, mechanic and Presque Isle scrap yard owner, was driving a front-end loading tractor Wednesday afternoon on the property of another nearby scrap yard he used to own at 204 Chapman Road, according to Presque Isle Police Chief Matt Irwin.
The owner of the property called the police earlier this month to report that Bonville was trespassing, and police ordered him to leave. On Wednesday, he returned and was “harassing the new business owner,” Irwin said.
When Presque Isle Sgt. Eric Erickson arrived, he informed Bonville he was trespassing. Erickson climbed onto the loader, put it in neutral and told Bonville that he needed to get off and was under arrest, Irwin said.
Bonville then pushed Erickson back and at the same time put the loader into gear, sending Erickson “flying out” onto the ground on his back, Irwin said.
Police Cpl. Tom Pearson and Officer Kyle White arrived as back-up and saw the encounter. With Erickson in the car, they followed along the road as Bonville attempted to drive the tractor through a stretch of woods “until he couldn’t drive any further,” Irwin said. The officers followed him out of concern that the tractor could be used as a weapon, Irwin added.
Bonville then was arrested and charged with assault on a police officer — a Class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison — as well as refusal to submit to arrest, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Bonville later was released on $2,000 bail, Irwin said. He is set to appear in Presque Isle District Court Jan. 22, 2016.
Erickson was taken by ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle and was released later in the evening, Irwin said. He added that Erickson was a bit sore and may need some physical therapy.
Irwin estimated this was the 25th encounter between Presque Isle police and Bonville.
In September 2014, Bonville faced charges in Aroostook County Superior Court of “disorderly conduct, offensive words and gestures,” for which he paid a $500 fine, and a criminal threatening with a weapon charge, which was dismissed, according to the Star-Herald’s archive.
