Editor’s Note: An arrest or summons does not constitute a finding of guilt. An individual charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at criminal proceedings.
The Maine State Police Troop F barracks in Houlton responded to 141 calls for service from Monday, August 1 to Sunday, August 7. The following incidents were among those addressed:
Monday, August 1
– Cpl. Quint stopped a vehicle in Monticello after seeing the inspection certificate and suspecting it was fraudulent. The sticker belonged to a farm truck from a local farmer and the man driving the vehicle admitted to taking the sticker due to the car not being able to pass inspection. The driver was also suspended. The man was issued two criminal summonses for the violations.
– Tr. Curtin investigated an assault complaint in Madawaska Lake. A male subject reported that after getting into a verbal altercation with another person, he was punched in the face and knocked out. After the incident, both parties left the area. The complainant went home and called the Houlton RCC to report the incident.
Tuesday, August 2
– Tr. Curtin located the respondent in the Madawaska Lake complaint and summoned him for assault.
Wednesday, August 3
– Tr. Endre stopped a motor vehicle in Oakfield for a vehicle defect. The two occupants of the vehicle advised Tr. Endre that they were on probation for drug charges. Tr. Endre then asked the 56-year-old operator to perform standard field sobriety tests. After the SFST’s the operator was arrested for operating while under the influence. The vehicle was searched due to the probation conditions. Marijuana, scales, baggies and pipes were found in the vehicle. The operator was summonsed for marijuana and paraphernalia.
Friday, August 5
– Tr. Saucier was contacted by a local grocery store when a subject left with a bag of groceries that did not belong to him and had not returned it by late afternoon. The investigation is ongoing.
Saturday, August 6
– Tr. Curtin investigated a criminal threatening complaint in Allagash. An individual reported that a male subject drove past his house and extended his hand and out the window and said “Bang! Bang!” Investigation disclosed that the offender had been warned for harassment before the incident and was also on bail conditions from a prior arrest. Tr. Curtin arrested the individual for criminal threatening, harassment, and violation of conditions of release.
– Tr. Curtin received a complaint of an underage drinking party in St. Agatha. Once in the area, Tr. Curtin attempted to stop a pickup for a traffic infraction that was leaving the area the complaint had originated in. The operator sped off and refused to pull over. Tr. Curtin pursued the offender for a very short time with speeds of over 100 mph. The vehicle then left the paved road, and took a dirt road in which Tr. Curtin stopped pursuing the vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.
Sunday, August 7
– Tr. Curtin, Tr. Luce, Cpl. Michaud, and Warden Adrian Marquis responded to a crash on Route 11 in Wallagrass. At approximately 1:15 a.m. the Houlton RCC received a report of a crash in which a male subject had been ejected from his vehicle. The male subject was found to be breathing, but not conscious and was lying in the road. He was transported to Northern Maine Medical Center, and then air lifted to Eastern Maine Medical Center. It appears that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
– Cpl. Michaud arrested a St. Agatha man for Criminal Speed and OUI. Cpl. Michaud had responded to the area after Tr. Curtin’s brief pursuit of a pick-up truck on Main Street. Cpl. Michaud was on Main Street when he clocked a vehicle at 83 mph in a 30-mph zone. Cpl. Michaud was able to get the vehicle pulled over and arrested the operator. His alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
