Standoff, OAS, poker game draw attention of authorities

AUGUSTA, Maine (Oct 15): The following information was compiled by the Public Information Office for the Maine Department of Public Safety:

After a 14-hour standoff, Norman "Bo" Thompson, 35, was taken into custody at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at his mother's house in Mexico. The arrest came after the Maine State Police Tactical Team used multiple rounds of tear gas. Team members later entered the home and found Thompson hiding in a crawl space underneath the garage. He was taken to the Oxford County jail on several charges, including burglary. Maine State Police had 25 personnel at the standoff including tact team members, negotiators and troopers. The department’s new robot was used for the first time as it entered the house after it was filled with tear gas.

Fire marshals investigated two small fires — one set in a boys bathroom and one set in a rear stairway at Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale. There was little damage and no injury. Fire marshals interviewed several students and reviewed tapes from new surveillance cameras.

Fire Marshal John Dean also reported the following recent incidents:
Hamden — Fire in a six-unit apartment building with several code violations;
Houlton— a 22-year-old woman was severely burned in a fire. She was sent to a Boston hospital. It is unclear how she set herself on fire;
Brunswick — A mobile home was destroyed as a result of a 3-year-old playing with a cigarette lighter;
Wilton — A large vacant farmhouse was destroyed and arson is the cause;
Presque Isle — A four-unit apartment building was badly damaged and a woman was arrested for arson.

Maine State Police troopers are on pace in 2007 to cite more than 3,000 drivers for operating after suspension (OAS) of their driver’s license. As of Oct. 8, they had cited 2,608 drivers for OAS. During all of 2006, 2,044 drivers were nabbed. Trooper Darren Vittum of Troop E in Orono recently cited 40 drivers in one month by utilizing the laptop in his cruiser to check on drivers.

Maine State Police broke up an illegal “Texas Hold-Em” poker game last weekend at the Bath Country Club. Two detectives from the licensing division interrupted the game, which involved about 50 players. Police seized $2,377 and a list of participants. No charges have been filed, but game organizers could face charges and the club may be cited for violating its liquor license by serving alcohol during the illegal gambling. A new law went into effect Sept. 20 that allows the game to be held in Maine, providing organizers obtain a license. So far, six licenses have been issued. The game in Bath was not one of them.

Trooper David Pelletier was promoted to detective and assigned to the gaming division. Pelletier is a 12-year veteran of the Maine State Police and recently received a bravery award for his actions apprehending a gunman inside an Augusta Wal-Mart.

Col. Pat Fleming recently inspected Troop K in the parking lot of the Central Maine Commerce Center in Augusta. The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit is the largest troop in the Maine State Police. The inspection followed a meeting with the Colonel and his command staff, who have been meeting the past few weeks with all of the troops and units of the Maine State Police.

The worst speeder of the week was the driver of an Infinity stopped on the Maine Turnpike in Biddeford for traveling 140 mph. The driver, 34, was arrested for criminal speed and driving to endanger. A second driver on the Turnpike was clocked at 101 mph after she passed an unmarked cruiser on the right. Corporal Ed Furtado was clocking another speeder at the time, but let that driver go to pursue the driver traveling 101 mph.

Troopers said the ATV operator killed Monday in Baldwin had a suspended driver’s license. Edward O’Brien, 49, died at the scene after his ATV overturned on the Rocky Dunn Road.

The International Narcotic Enforcement Officer’s Association honored Maine Drug Enforcement Supervisor Gerry Baril of Lewiston with a Commendation Award for his role a couple of years ago in a multi-state cocaine-marijuana investigation. Baril has overseen MDEA’s Lewiston Office for the past 12 years and helped coordinate the 2003 and 2004 investigation that resulted in a dozen arrests between Maine and New York. Investigators say dozens of pounds of cocaine and marijuana were smuggled into Maine from New York before the drug ring was cracked.

Village Soup

News Added: 15 October, 2007

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