PORTLAND
Police seeking suspect who fired shots into apartment

Police are trying to find the person who fired several shots into an apartment early Tuesday morning.

The shooting occurred at 109 Woodford St. around 2:24 a.m. Two men were in the area where the shots hit but no one was hurt, said police Lt. Gary Rogers.

Rogers would not say whether police believe the men were targeted or the victims of a random attack. The men’s names were not released.

Rogers would not say how many suspects are involved or what type of gun was used.

Officers were unable to track down any suspects with a police dog. Evidence technicians collected shell casings, which will be examined.

Police are asking anyone with information to call detectives at 874-8533.

Two ex-corrections officers get jail time for sexual contact with female inmate

Two former Cumberland County corrections officers have been sentenced to jail time for having sexual contact with a female inmate, said District Attorney Stephanie Anderson.

Gerald Gilbert pleaded guilty to assault Thursday for having sexual contact with an inmate, Anderson said Tuesday. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Toby Post pleaded guilty Friday to trafficking in prison contraband and assault, for trying to provide suboxone to a female inmate and having sexual contact with her. He was sentenced to concurrent sentences of one year in prison.

The charges arose from an investigation that began in January.

Sweep results in 19 arrests on cocaine, other charges

Nineteen people have been arrested in a sweep of Greater Portland that began Friday.

Police say that agents working on “Operation Summer Slam” recovered 10 grams of crack cocaine from the home at 1597 Forest Ave. The cocaine’s street value is estimated at $1,000.

Lt. Gary Rogers said the arrests came from an effort involving federal, state, municipal and county law enforcement agencies.

Aregawi Gebrewahid, 25, Bryan Cobb, 45, Steven Kubari, 21, Earl Taylor, 39, and Jamie Hyler, 29 – all of Portland – were each charged with trafficking in cocaine.

The investigation led to arrests on other charges, including cultivation of marijuana, unlawful possession of a scheduled drug, tampering with a witness, possession of cocaine, violation of bail and trafficking in marijuana.

Stalled freight train causes traffic jams during rush hour

A stalled freight train tied up traffic during rush hour at Woodfords Corner on Tuesday.

The train stalled on the tracks around 5 p.m. at the busy intersection where Forest Avenue, Woodford Street and Deering Avenue meet, said police Lt. Robert Ridge.

Ridge said the train had mechanical problems but he was unable to provide additional details.

He said that once the train got moving – after about 30 minutes – the traffic congestion it had caused cleared up fairly quickly.

Commuters said the train caused traffic tie-ups on a number of side streets near Woodfords Corner.

DAYTON
Deputy fails to negotiate curve, destroys his cruiser

A York County sheriff’s deputy who destroyed his cruiser in a crash early Tuesday morning is expected to make a full recovery.

Deputy Chris Roux failed to negotiate a curve on Clarks Mill Road around 3:30 a.m., said Sheriff Maurice Ouellette in a prepared statement. Roux was responding to a report of a burglary in progress, which turned out to be unfounded.

Roux was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford and transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland for evaluation.

BANGOR
Ex-prosecutor asks judge to hear his child porn trial

A former prosecutor who is accused of downloading child pornography on his home computer has waived his right to a jury trial.

James Cameron of Hallowell, Maine’s former top drug prosecutor, asked for testimony to be heard by a judge instead of a jury. The trial in federal court will begin on Aug. 16.

Cameron, 48, remains free on $75,000 bail. The Bangor Daily News said he is required to wear an electronic monitor and abide by Internet restrictions.

The investigation that led to the charges began in December 2007. Cameron was an assistant attorney general in Augusta until the state police investigation became public in the spring of 2008.

JEFFERSON
Man killed when tree falls, crushing excavator’s cab

A 48-year-old man from Jefferson was killed when a large pine tree fell onto the cab of his excavator, crushing him.

Peter Peaslee was killed Thursday while he was clearing land owned by Michael Cassella, said Lt. Michael Murphy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Cassella’s property is near the intersection of Route 17 and Travelers Pond Road in Jefferson.

Murphy said Peaslee was a self-employed contractor who was working alone when the tree he was trying to knock down fell back onto the cab.

NEW YORK
Coke Zero-Mentos mobile gets Maine pair on TV shows

The Maine guys who created a vehicle propelled by Coke Zero and Mentos candies are in the Big Apple.

Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz went to New York to demonstrate their contraption Tuesday on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” They planned an encore on “The Early Show” today on CBS.

Their Coke-and-Mentos-powered machine gets its momentum from a piston mechanism that uses the bubbling mixture created when the candy is dropped into 108 two-liter bottles of Coke Zero.

The Buckfield-based entertainers shot to fame four years ago with their online videos of geysers created by Diet Coke and Mentos.

AUGUSTA
Commission will oversee counsel for indigent people

Maine is transferring administration of legal representation for low-income people from the court system to a separate commission.

The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services will assume responsibility Thursday for regulating and paying for court-appointed counsel.

The commission was created by the Legislature in 2009 to be responsible for providing legal services to people who are constitutionally entitled to counsel at the state’s expense.

Indigent people are generally entitled to counsel in criminal proceedings when there is a risk of jail, in child protection cases when loss of custody is at issue, and in mental health cases involving involuntary commitment.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Snowe, 11 others highlight northern border’s needs

Maine’s U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is among a bipartisan group of senators who are asking the secretary of homeland security not to overlook the needs of the U.S.-Canadian border when allocating resources to the southern border.

Snowe is one of 12 senators from seven northern border states who signed a letter dated Monday to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The letter warned Napolitano of what they see as the dangers of boosting operations along the southern border by taking agents, funding and other assets away from the northern border.