Dushko Venelinov Vulchev, 39, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Bulgaria, faces two felony charges — kidnapping and theft by unauthorized taking — as well as misdemeanor charges of domestic violence assault, obstructing the report of a crime and domestic violence terrorizing.
Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna called Vulchev a “public threat” during a news conference at the police station on Thursday. Vulchev remained at the Aroostook County Jail on Thursday after making his initial appearance Wednesday by videoconference in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton, according to Assistant District Attorney Kari Wells-Puckett.
If he makes bail, which was set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 surety, Vulchev will not be allowed to possess any weapons or have any contact with the alleged victim, with whom he had a prior relationship, according to Wells-Puckett. He also will be monitored by a GPS device and enter into a contract with Maine Pretrial Services.
During the news conference, which also included Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall, McKenna said that his department was notified by the Westbrook Police Department about 11 p.m. April 28 that Vulchev had an active warrant out for his arrest after allegedly harassing a business in that community.
Police went to his residence at 343 Court St. that night and found two vehicles belonging to Vulchev and to the woman, but no one would answer the door. The officers left and returned the next morning, but again failed to get anyone to answer the door, and both vehicles still were in the driveway.
The woman’s parents, who live out of state, called police April 29, 2016, concerned about their daughter’s well-being because she would not answer her phone and had not showed up for work.
At that point, Houlton police secured a search warrant and at about 4:30 p.m., with assistance from members of the sheriff’s office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, forced the door open to get into the home, McKenna said.
Once in the home, officers heard a voice calling for help and found both Vulchev and the woman in a bedroom.
“He had taken her clothing, her watch, her phone and her keys,” said McKenna. “He held her against her will. We arrested him and he offered no resistance. The victim was naked, she had bruising visible and was very shaken, emotionally. We took her to Houlton Regional Hospital and she was medically cleared.”
The police chief also indicated during Thursday’s news conference that his staff had encounters with Vulchev the previous week.
On Tuesday, March 22, Vulchev apparently showed up at the police station seeking paperwork to get weapons to “send overseas.” McKenna said that Vulchev was directed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Police also were notified that Vulchev had gone to Mac’s Trading Post in Houlton the day before, looking to purchase weapons to send to Bulgaria.
Last year, Vulchev served about seven months in prison after he was convicted in U.S. District Court of one count of threats in foreign commerce. That charge stemmed from an email he sent threatening to kill an economist and administrator with the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium.
McKenna said Thursday that since the offense was only a misdemeanor, Vulchev still could purchase weapons legally.
On the evening of March 22, Vulchev also went to the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office seeking the home address of a deputy, according to McKenna. Vulchev was told that such information would not be provided and he was issued a trespass warning to get him to leave. Sheriff Crandall said Vulchev then followed a deputy home, still in an effort to find the other deputy, and was issued a trespass warning to leave that property. McKenna said that additional charges, including at the federal level, could be filed.
