PORTLAND

Police arrest, charge man in pawnshop, jewelry theft

The man who is charged with breaking into Coastal Trading and Pawn on St. John Street was free on bail after being charged with a burglary to the Springer’s Jewelers at 580 Congress St. last winter.

Police charged Donald Alfreds, 25, of Portland with burglary, theft and criminal mischief in connection with a break-in early Monday morning at Coastal Trading and Pawn shop at Union Station Plaza on St. John Street.

Police said there were similarities between the burglaries. Alfreds was free on bail after being charged with the jewelry store break-in.

Police Wednesday recovered some items from the pawnshop burglary which helped them confirm Alfreds was a suspect.

After watching his house on Presumpscot Street, police arrested him and searched the house. None of the stolen goods was found, police said.

Alfreds appears in a security video that Portland police released Wednesday. Police say he is the man wearing the red shirt in the video.

The other suspect in the video is still at large. Anyone with information is asked to call Portland police at 874-8533.

Final Alive at Five concert rescheduled for Aug. 15

The Alive at Five concert scheduled Thursday at Monument Square was postponed because of a threat of rain and rescheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 15.

The concert will feature Arc of Sky, Sara Hallie Richardson and Jeff Beam’s Loudspeaker Wallpaper.

It will be the last concert in this summer’s Alive at Five series, presented by Portland’s Downtown District. 

Maine’s housing authorities to get nearly $5.2 million

Housing authorities in Maine will receive nearly $5.2 million in federal funding to improve and preserve public housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.

The funding is part of $1.7 billion in capital fund grants being awarded to housing authorities in all 50 states, HUD said in a press release.

Portland Housing Authority will receive the largest share — about $1.4 million — of Maine’s allocation. The Housing Authority of Bangor will receive about $811,000; the Lewiston Housing Authority will get about $474,000; and the South Portland Housing Authority will get about $391,000.

The remaining funds will be distributed to the 16 other housing authorities in the state.

The annual HUD allocation is intended to make large-scale improvements to public housing units.

There are 1.2 million public housing units in the U.S. that are managed by about 3,100 public housing agencies, HUD said in the release.

PARSONSFIELD

Parsonsfield man arrested after car-chase incident

A Parsonsfield man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly led police on a short car chase and approached an officer with a baseball bat.

Jeffrey Perry, 30, was arrested on a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and summonsed for eluding a police officer after he refused to stop for a York County Sheriff’s deputy who was investigating a domestic violence complaint, according to police.

Police first had contact with Perry this week when Deputy Tom Searway was called to Parsonsfield on Tuesday to take a report of criminal mischief to a motor vehicle. Perry was upset because somebody had broken the rear window of his car and wanted police to arrest the person he suspected of doing it, police said.

During his investigation, Searway found Perry had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and asked other law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for Perry, who could not be located on Tuesday, police said.

The next morning, Searway saw Perry leave his home around 7:15 and tried to stop the car. Perry refused to stop and sped down Route 25 and onto Wadleigh Street before he abruptly stopped his car, got out and approached the deputy with a baseball bat, police said.

Police said Perry then got back in his car and tried to elude Searway a second time before again getting out of his car. He was taken into custody without further incident, according to police.

Perry was also charged with domestic violence assault and failure to submit to arrest or detention. He posted $1,000 bail and was released from custody Thursday morning. He is not allowed contact with his girlfriend and is expected to appear in York County Superior Court on Aug. 14.

AUGUSTA

Father whose son took gun to school pleads not guilty

A Maine man whose 4-year-old son brought a loaded handgun to a day care center has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct.

Adam Keene’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea on the Madison man’s behalf Wednesday. Keene, 31, did not appear in court.

Police say an employee found the semi-automatic handgun in a bag the boy brought to day care center in Hallowell in April. The safety was on, but a round was in the chamber.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney tells WGME-TV it appears Keene put the gun in the bag, then forgot about it. Because she thinks Keene’s acts were unintentional, he was not charged with a felony.

Keene owned the gun legally.

His lawyer said while the situation was “scary,” he’s not convinced a crime was committed. 

First responders to study homemade explosives

Maine’s first responders will have an opportunity next month to learn how to recognize and report homemade explosives.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency says it is hosting an “anti-terrorism training” session Sept. 4 for first responders. The session will be held at Florian Hall in Augusta.

The agency says first responders will learn about the characteristics of homemade and improvised explosive devices as well as safety and security steps for areas where the devices are found.

The training is free.

KENNEBUNKPORT

Police charge two men with breaking into cars

Police have charged two Kennebunk men with breaking into cars in the Goose Rocks Beach area.

Anthony Paro, 21, of Old Port Road and Eric Wallace, 26, of Port Road were arrested after they were seen allegedly breaking into cars on Wildwood Drive in the early morning hours of Aug. 4. Residents called police to report they could see two men going through the cars, said Chief Craig Sanford.

Officers found Paro walking in the area, while Wallace was found leaving in a car.

Wallace was charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, operating while license suspended and theft by receiving stolen property. Paro was charged with burglary of a motor vehicle and violation of conditions of release.

Paro remains in the York County Jail. Wallace was released Aug. 5.

Sanford said police will continue their investigation and anticipate filing additional charges.

YORK

Boston man faces charges in hotel burglary and theft

Police arrested Joseph Dedominici, 50, of Boston on charges of burglary and theft Wednesday after a hotel patron reported that someone broke into her room and stole jewelry and credit cards.

The woman notified her credit card company, which determined that the cards were being used at Kittery outlets. Kittery police spotted Dedominici and arrested him.

Later, police heard from another victim who said a man matching Dedominici’s description had broken into her hotel room, also in York. Dedominici was later charged with a second burglary to a hotel room after the guest reported that someone stole a laptop, a tablet and a camera.

He was held on $26,000 bail in the York County Jail pending a Sept. 9 court date.

HOULTON

Revenue Service office closure leaves 11 jobless

Maine Revenue Services is closing its office in Houlton and consolidating operations in Augusta, leaving 11 state workers without jobs, officials said Thursday.

Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Sawin Millett made the decision to save $900,000 over the two-year budget cycle. The work will be done by five people in Augusta, and the 11 displaced workers will have first dibs on those jobs, said his spokeswoman, Jennifer Smith.

Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson of Allagash criticized the decision, saying the state has tried to close the office before only to discover it’s more efficient to keep it open.

“Closing the office will further isolate and disconnect rural Maine and Aroostook County from needed services. This seems to be nothing more than the governor continuing to target rural Maine,” said Jackson, a Democrat who has clashed previously with Republican Gov. Paul LePage.

Smith said LePage wasn’t part of the decision-making process.

With the Houlton office’s lease up for renewal, the head of Maine Revenue Services and the state tax assessor approached Millett about closing the office, Smith said. Millett agreed with them, she said.

It didn’t make sense to renew the lease because the Houlton facility lacks the security of the Augusta headquarters, which can handle the job with fewer workers, she said.

DOVER-FOXCROFT

Police say man trafficked in methamphetamine

A Dover-Foxcroft man has been charged with one count of trafficking in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, according to a news release from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Joel Frigon, 33, had been under investigation by the MDEA and the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department. Investigators determined that Frigon was transporting the chemicals needed to manufacture meth in a pickup truck, the release said.

MDEA agents and Maine State Police troopers stopped Frigon around 3 p.m. Wednesday along Route 11 in Charleston as he was driving his pickup.

Based on evidence gathered during the stop, MDEA’s clandestine lab team was notified. The pickup was towed to Bangor, where the lab team, comprising agents and chemists from Maine’s Health and Environmental Testing Lab, searched the truck. Evidence found in the search indicated that Frigon intended to, or was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Hazardous materials were turned over to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for disposal. This investigation is continuing.

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