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 155 calls for service from Sunday, August 28 to Saturday, September 3. The following incidents were among those addressed:
Sunday, August 28
– Maine Warden Service Warden Ryan Fitzpatrick was responding to a report of two adult kayakers – a male and female – who at about 7 p.m. had started kayaking up a stream in the town of Caribou. The section of stream they were in would have taken about one hour to travel, and it was now three hours later and no one had seen or heard from them and it was raining heavily.
Wdn. Fitzpatrick asked if Tr. Adam Stoutamyer could check for their vehicles at both the start, and end of the section of stream. Tr. Stoutamyer located the male’s vehicle at one end and the female’s at the other. Wdn. Fitzpatrick used a canoe belonging to the complainant, and he and the complainant paddled up the stream and located them both on the shore unharmed. They had entered a section of the stream where a log jam of sorts had occurred, and they could not pass it, and did not know where they were, so they decided to climb out, and stay under a tree until daybreak. All four of them walked out to the nearest road, and Tr. Stoutamyer and a Caribou PD officer transported them back to their vehicles.
Monday, August 29
– Tr. Casavant stopped a driver from Connecticut for driving 90 mph in a 55-mph zone on U.S. Route 1 in Westfield. The male operator was cited for his speed.
Wednesday, August 31
-Tr. Saucier charged a Patten youth with criminal threatening/harassment. The teenager had vandalized a person’s vehicle and then sent threatening messages to the victim of his previous crime threatening to kill him.
– Tr. Levesque investigated a domestic violence incident that occurred in T14 R8 where a couple was camping which is located in upper Piscataquis County and about 40 miles into the North Maine Woods. The two began arguing and the man assaulted the woman with a ratchet strap and had held a rock over her head threatening to drop it on her. The woman was able to get away and went to her mother’s residence in Presque Isle where she called to report the incident. Tr. Levesque found the man and arrested him. The man scored a 7 on the domestic abuse risk assessment, had a previous domestic violence charge, and was not allowed to bail. Tr. Luce transported the man to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton.
Thursday, Sept. 1
– Cpl. Quint stopped a Fort Kent man in Bridgewater for criminal speeding, 88 mph in a 55 mph zone. The man passed two vehicles in a no passing zone before being pulled over. The man stated he knew he was speeding and offered no other explanation. The man had a radar detector and quickly reduced his speed to below the posted limit after Cpl. Quint activated his radar unit but his speed was already locked. The man will appear in Houlton Court in November.
Friday, Sept. 2
-Tr. Luce assisted Fort Kent Ambulance with a mentally unstable patient in Eagle Lake. The man was in crisis and began throwing chairs and other items around his home. The ambulance responded and asked for a trooper to respond as well. Tr. Luce helped calm the man who agreed to go to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
– Tr. Casavant charged a Mars Hill man with one count of criminal mischief, one count of aggravated criminal mischief, and one count of burglary. The investigation began in July when two apartment complex residents reported damage to a vehicle and an apartment. An apartment door was heavily damaged and words had been scratched into the paint of a vehicle. The motor compartment of the vehicle had also been filled with trash.
– Cpl. Quint and Tr. Sucy arrested two brothers in Houlton on warrants after they failed to report to the jail to serve their sentence. The pair was convicted for unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs and did not report to the jail as agreed with the court.
– Tr. Endre stopped a motor vehicle for a vehicle defect on U.S. Route 1 in Houlton. While speaking to the operator Tr. Endre could smell the odor of intoxicating beverages and marijuana. The operator admitted that he had been drinking and smoked marijuana earlier in the day. After field sobriety tests the operator was arrested and taken to the Aroostook County Jail for an intoxilyzer test. The operator was charged with OUI alcohol and drugs.
– An off-duty game warden called the State Police reporting he was walking in the woods in Orient and found a bag full of bows and some arrows. Tr. Curtin covered a burglary in Weston at Living Waters Bible Camp on August 2 and the complainant stated several bows and arrows were among the items taken. Cpl. Quint located the items in the woods in Orient. The thief hid the items under some dead branches and leaves off a tote road. The property will be returned to the Bible camp.
Saturday, Sept. 3
– Trp. Luce and Trp. Levesque responded to a single-vehicle crash in New Canada. The driver was a 16-year-old female from Fort Kent. The crash is still under investigation but it appears the woman was travelling above the posted speed limit and was texting and driving. Trp. Luce is still investigating the crash and intends to issue summonses to the driver for the violations. The woman has a broken neck and two broken orbital bones in her face. She was transported to NMMC and then to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Her injuries are serious but not life threatening.
Sunday, Sept.4
– Tr. Endre attempted to stop a truck for loud exhaust on the Bangor Road in Houlton but the operator refused to stop. Tr. Endre did not pursue the vehicle but instead Tr. Endre drove through town to where he thought the truck may be heading and found the vehicle at a residence on South St. An 18-year-old male walked out from behind a house and admitted to driving and failing to stop. Tr. Endre could smell the odor of intoxicating beverages on him. After administering field sobriety tests it was determined that he was slightly under the influence and the operator was taken to the Aroostook County Jail for an intoxilyzer test. The underage female passengers, all of whom were drinking, eventually returned to the scene. Their parents were called and responded to the scene. The operator was summonsed for operating a motor vehicle beyond restrictions as well as failing to stop for an officer and a report will be forwarded to the Secretary of State for a zero tolerance violation with passengers.
