PORTLAND

Police still investigating shooting in front of tavern

Police continue to pursue leads in the shooting on Hampshire Street on Tuesday morning that left one man hospitalized in serious condition, but have yet to make an arrest.

A 24-year-old Portland man remained at Maine Medical Center on Wednesday, still unable to be interviewed, police said.

The man was shot at 1:20 a.m. on the street in front of Sangillo’s Tavern at 18 Hampshire St. Witnesses reported hearing three shots, although police would not elaborate on the extent of the man’s injuries.

Police did not identify the victim, nor say whether he was able to provide them an account of what happened or identify his attacker.

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Police on Wednesday continued to collect and analyze security video from around the scene of the shooting, said Lt. James Sweatt, head of detectives. He said gathering the videotapes takes time because subpoenas and search warrants could be required.

Investigators also continued forensic analysis of evidence recovered at the scene, he said.

Officials have said they do not believe the shooting was a random act and the public is not in danger, but have not said whether they have identified a suspect. They questioned several people at the scene immediately after the shooting and took some people into custody, although they did not say whether those were related to the shooting.

Some residents in nearby buildings said after the shooting that the violent incident was unsettling and left them on edge.

Two residential projects on Munjoy Hill win approval

The Portland Planning Board has approved a five-unit residential development on Munjoy Hill that will be built on a steep slope off Sheridan Street.

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Because of the land’s 45-degree slope, New Day Farm LLC will build the Sheridan Street Apartments using pier supports as tall as 14 feet for the ground floor.

The $1.5 million project, designed by Archetype Architects, would add five market-rate units at 152-156 Sheridan St., behind the Maine Department of Corrections office on Washington Avenue.

The top-floor unit, which would be about 2,400 square feet and include a large outdoor deck, would be built for a heart surgeon who wants to live on Munjoy Hill. The four apartments – one townhouse and three flats, starting at 1,300 square feet – would be rented, but could be sold as condos in the future.

The board approved the project late Tuesday. Earlier in the same meeting, the board approved final site and subdivision plans for another project, called 118 on Munjoy Hill, a 12-unit condo complex at 118 Congress St.

BANGOR

Body of missing man found in woods near his residence

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Police in Bangor are investigating the death of a man who had been reported missing by his family over the weekend.

Police said they got a call Tuesday night that the body of a man was found in some woods in a neighborhood known as Bangor Gardens, near an apartment complex called Bradford Commons.

Police determined the man was John Eaton Jr., whom the family had not heard from since Sunday. Eaton lived at Bradford Commons.

A cause of death has not been determined. This case remains under investigation, and the state Medical Examiner’s Office was expected to examine Eaton’s body Wednesday.

Judge accepts man’s plea of guilty to killing girlfriend

A judge has accepted a Bangor man’s guilty plea to manslaughter in the killing his 49-year-old girlfriend.

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Superior Court Justice Ann Murray declined to accept David Coon’s plea earlier this month because he was too emotional, crying out that his girlfriend’s death “wasn’t supposed to happen.” But she agreed to accept his guilty plea on Wednesday.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey Silverstein told WZON-AM that the sentencing recommendation calls for Coon to serve 12 years in prison.

A police affidavit indicates that Coon told investigators that he and the victim, Sherry Clifford, were on the floor in a tussle when he covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. The medical examiner concluded Clifford died of asphyxiation and a neck injury. Coon said he didn’t have his hands on her neck.

EDDINGTON

Police identify woman killed in crash on Route 9

Police have released the name of the victim in a traffic crash this week on Route 9 in Eddington.

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Deputies said Tuesday that 47-year-old Denise Golding of Eddington was killed when the vehicle she was driving collided with a pickup truck.

Golding was a teacher, according to her obituary.

The driver of the other vehicle, 43-year-old Scott Ramsdell of Cutler, is in the hospital in fair condition.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

WOOLWICH

Man charged with 15 counts of possessing child porn

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Maine State Police have charged a Woolwich man with 15 counts of possessing child pornography.

Police said 31-year-old William Diemer was arrested Monday at the New Harbor boat manufacturer where he works.

The investigation began last fall when police got a tip and seized Diemer’s home computer.

State police said it does not appear the images on his computer are children from Maine.

Police confirmed that Diemer was convicted in 2004 of cruelty to animals for a sexual assault on a horse while he was a student at the University of Maine.

Diemer was freed on $5,000 bail.

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CONCORD, N.H.

U.S. Marshals arrest fugitive in Maine after TV show aired

U.S. Marshals say a New Hampshire man featured on television as the “Fugitive of the Week” has been arrested in Maine.

Marshals said tips that came in after the segment aired on WMUR-TV last week led them to 36-year-old Craig Wiggins, who was holed up in a house in Eliot, Maine.

Marshals said they forced in the door of the house Wednesday morning and took Wiggins into custody without incident. Eliot police charged 27-year-old Diana Foley of Eliot with harboring a fugitive.

Wiggins is wanted by sheriffs in Rockingham and Strafford counties for failing to surrender to serve a prison sentence for theft by unauthorized taking, violation of probation and being a habitual offender.

It was not immediately known whether either defendant has a lawyer.


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