PORTLAND

Maine high court justice accepts lawyer’s resignation

A single justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has accepted the resignation of a South Portland lawyer who has been practicing law in Maine since 1983, focusing primarily on bankruptcy, real estate and probate matters.

At the unanimous recommendation of the Board of Overseers of the Bar, Justice Andrew Mead last week ordered that the resignation of Charles Bean be accepted.

Mead also ordered on Oct. 29 that an affidavit submitted by Bean in support of his resignation be impounded. The affidavit would only be made public by a future court order or if Bean seeks reinstatement to the Maine bar.

Bean was ordered to cooperate with the bar’s attorney to arrange the wind-down of his practice and to return client files as requested.

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Neither Mead’s order nor an announcement by the Board of Overseers of the Bar gives a reason why Bean sought to resign.

ARUNDEL

Jail guard to be suspended after being charged with OUI

A York County Jail corrections officer will be suspended with pay after being charged with drunken driving early Sunday morning and refusing to take a sobriety test .

William L. King Jr., chief deputy of the York County Sheriff’s Office, identified the corrections officer as Matthew Willey, 26, of Biddeford, who has worked at the jail since 2008.

According to King, authorities were notified around 1 a.m. Sunday by a motorist that a vehicle had gone off Route 111 in Arundel – also known as the Old Alfred Road – near the Biddeford town line. Biddeford police and a crew from Arundel Fire and Rescue responded and found Willey, who was semiconscious, inside the vehicle.

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Willey was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford for observation but refused to take a sobriety test when asked to do so by deputies from the sheriff’s office.

King said that a driver who refuses to take a sobriety test faces an automatic license suspension of 275 days. Police also suspect Willey of being involved in a hit-and-run accident that took place shortly before his vehicle went off the road. King said that accident remains under investigation.

Willey is scheduled to appear in Biddeford District Court Dec. 11.

King said that effective Tuesday Willey will be placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation by Capt. Dan Bean, who handles cases involving jail employees.

SOUTH PORTLAND

City’s police dog due to get bullet- and stab-proof vest

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South Portland’s police dog Trigger is one of 16 Maine police dogs that will receive a bullet- and stab-proof protective vest.

Lt. Frank Clark of the South Portland Police Department said Trigger’s vest is being paid for by Vested Interest in K9s Inc. – an all-volunteer charity based in East Taunton, Mass.

Since it was founded in 2009, Vested Interest in K9s has provided more than 443 protective vests to police dogs in 37 states. Each vest costs $950 and is guarantied for five years.

Clark said the dog vests in Maine will be purchased with a $15,000 grant provided by The Petco Foundation.


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