topsham

Man charged with robbery; police also seek brother

Police have arrested an 18-year-old Topsham man on robbery charges and are looking for his twin brother.

Chief Christopher Lewis tells the Times Record that Matthew Laurelez was arrested Saturday shortly after he and his brother allegedly pulled a gun and robbed a man they had arranged to meet at an athletic field in town.

He is being held on $25,000 cash bail on an armed robbery charge.

Police say his twin brother, Alexander Laurelez, was also involved, but as of Tuesday had not been located.

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auburn

Former city councilor pleads not guilty to child porn

A former Auburn city councilor who also once published a local magazine and organized a community film festival has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges.

The Sun Journal reports that Joshua Shea also pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court to sexual exploitation of a minor.

The 38-year-old Shea remains free on $500 bail.

He was arrested in March after police seized his computer.

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Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted him on 10 charges of possession of materials that depicted a person younger than 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

salem

Pair from Corinna accused of stealing guns from home

A Corinna man and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested after allegedly stealing 11 firearms from a home in Salem Township in Franklin County, according to police.

Both David A. Ireland, 53, and a 17-year-old boy, also from Corinna, are charged with burglary and theft, according to a statement released by Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.

A homeowner on Salem Road reported a burglary and the theft of 11 rifles and handguns earlier this month, according to McCausland.

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State police connected Ireland and the teenager to the crime when police in Newport got a tip that one of the guns had been pawned by Ireland, according to the release.

Police searched Ireland’s home but did not recover any of the guns.

gardiner

Possible link probed between home invasions

Police are investigating a home invasion that reportedly occurred Wednesday morning and checking to see if it is linked to a similar incident Tuesday in West Gardiner.

Gardiner Police Chief James Toman said a person inside a residence on Highland Avenue called at 5:15 a.m., Wednesday to report that three men entered the apartment, threatened somebody inside and then fled.

He said a similar incident Tuesday in West Gardiner was reported to the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are working with the Kennebec sheriff’s office to see if there are any similarities,” Toman said. “We don’t know that we are getting the complete and accurate story from the people in the apartment.”

— From staff and news services


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