PARIS
21-year-old pleads guilty in shooting deaths of two men

A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of two Rumford men last year.

Richard Moulton Jr. of Mexico changed his plea Tuesday in the shootings of Roger Day, 48, and Victor Sheldon, 22, in August 2009 at a home they shared in Rumford.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson told the Sun Journal of Lewiston that in exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to cap Moulton’s prison sentence at 40 years.

Moulton’s co-defendant, Eric Hamel, 20, of Mexico, pleaded guilty in September.

Court documents indicate that Moulton and Hamel planned the shootings as revenge because Sheldon allegedly assaulted his estranged wife after she had begun dating Moulton.

DAYTON
Limerick woman dies after her car is struck by pickup

A woman from Limerick was killed Tuesday morning in a crash at the intersection of routes 5 and 35.

Sandra Lambert, 43, was driving east on Route 5 at 10 a.m. when the car was struck by a  pickup truck driven by Jeffrey V. Makela, 25, of Standish.

Makela was driving north on Route 35 and failed to stop at a stop sign, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

The collision pushed the Oldsmobile into a dump truck owned by Thyng Paving of Lyman, which was stopped in traffic.

Lambert was killed in the crash, and her passenger, Cindy Kamszik, 36, of Buxton, was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland. She was in fair condition Tuesday night.

Makela was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford, where he was treated and released. The crash remains under investigation.

EDGECOMB
Drivers involved in crash on Route 1 are identified

Authorities have identified the people involved in a crash on Route 1 in Edgecomb on Monday at the Davis Island Bridge.

Joseph Dahmen, 72, of Newcastle was driving northbound in the southbound lane when his car collided at 12:35 p.m. with a southbound vehicle driven by Edmund Burke, 70, of Ogunquit.

Dahmen was taken to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta with head and neck injuries. Burke received minor injuries.

William Murphy, 69, of East Boothbay, a passenger in Burke’s car, was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He was in critical condition Tuesday night.

PORTLAND
Eliot Cutler joins coalition of environmental groups

Former independent gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler is joining a coalition that’s calling on Congress to protect the Clean Air Act.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the law, Cutler joined a coalition of environmental groups at rallies Tuesday in Bangor and Portland.

The coalition is critical of a proposal by West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller to delay for two years Environmental Protection Agency regulation of greenhouse gases.

Cutler helped craft the 1970 Clean Air Act extension while working for Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine.

Late-night fire destroys house on Peaks Island

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a fire that destroyed a seasonal home on Peaks Island and damaged a nearby home.

Witnesses alerted the firefighter assigned to the island that smoke was coming from a house at 160 Upper A  St. at 11:45 p.m. Sunday.

The island’s volunteer fire crew responded, and Portland’s fire boat transported 17 firefighters to the island.

The fire destroyed that house and spread to the adjacent one before firefighters brought it under control at 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Neither building was occupied and nobody was injured.

Man charged with burglary, assault in Peaks break-in

Portland police have charged Andrei Schneller, 38, with burglary and assault after he allegedly broke into a Peaks Island home and, when confronted by the resident, knocked her to the ground.

The Portland officer assigned to the island was called to the house at Central Avenue at 10:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of a woman injured. The woman said she heard noises and confronted a man she knew who was trying to steal her computer.

Police arrested Schneller Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. at a relative’s house on Upper A Street.

Police are investigating whether Schneller is connected to recent thefts that have occurred on the island.

Report urges government to push for wind projects

A report by environmental groups calls on government and others interested in clean energy push harder for offshore wind power development.

The report being released today in Portland says wind resources off the Atlantic coast, including Maine, are untapped, while European countries have hundreds of turbines spinning on dozens of offshore wind farms. It says European and China’s offshore wind goals dwarf those of the United States.

The report was prepared by the National Wildlife Federation and co-sponsored by more than 35 other organizations.

Bullying expert to give free presentation tonight

Stan Davis, a nationally known expert on strategies to prevent bullying, will give a free public presentation at 6:30 tonight at Hall Elementary School, 23 Orono Road, off outer Brighton Avenue.

His talk is titled “Empowering Bystanders: Strategies Parents Can Use in Guiding Their Children.”

This is the third year in a row that he will visit Hall as part of the schoolwide Peaceful Hall initiative to sustain a welcoming, inclusive and responsive school culture.

Davis will spend the school day working with Hall students and staff on how to empower bystanders to act in the face of conflict. For more information, call 874-8205.

LEWISTON
Three people charged with kidnapping, trespassing

Maine State Police say three people have been charged with kidnapping and aggravated criminal trespass after allegedly dragging a sleeping man from his mobile home, holding a knife to his throat and tying him up.

Bail was set Monday for the three suspects: Cherith Andersen, 32; Michael Morse, 39; and Clarence White, 49, all of Wilton, The Sun Journal reported. Andersen and Morse face additional charges in connection with the Thanksgiving incident.