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. 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.
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.
