Buxton

Woman assaulted, tied up as she interrupted burglary

A Buxton woman was assaulted and tied up after she interrupted a burglary of her home Friday night.

Buxton police said the woman arrived at her home on Callahan Road shortly after 9 p.m. to find three people inside.

Police said the woman was assaulted and tied up by the burglars, who left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The woman was taken to Mercy Hospital in Portland to be treated for her injuries and was released from the hospital Saturday morning.

Police said the burglars were described only as two men and one woman, all in their late teens to early 20s.

Brunswick

Bath man arrested after manhunt in Brunswick

A Bath man was arrested on domestic violence charges following a manhunt in Brunswick on Friday.

Brunswick police said Patrick Ridley, 28, of Washington Street, Bath, was arrested at 10:30 p.m. after a manhunt in the Franklin Street area of Brunswick.

Brunswick and Lisbon police had been investigating a domestic violence incident involving Ridley’s girlfriend. Police confronted Ridley near Franklin Street and he fled on foot. A police dog tracked him to a backyard, where he was hiding.

He was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and misuse of a public benefit card.

Police said other charges may be filed against Ridley, who was being held at Cumberland County Jail after bail was denied. He is scheduled to appear June 17 in court in Portland.

Details about the domestic violence incident were withheld by police, who said releasing them would compromise their investigation.

Anson

Fire destroys mobile home as pair prepare to move in

A young couple who had been preparing to move into a Preble Avenue home has no place to live after a fire destroyed it Saturday morning.

The home, located at 16 Preble Avenue, was an older mobile home that the pair had been remodeling, said Skyla Murray, 18. She was preparing to move into the home with her boyfriend, Charlie Landry, and was at work Saturday morning when the fire started.

“We were going to sleep here tonight for the first time. Everything was ready, and we were going to have dinner here as soon as I got out of work,” Murray said Saturday.

She said the couple had just spent money on redoing the floors and countertops and were planning to move furniture into the house Saturday night. Instead, they spent most of Saturday afternoon pulling debris our of the mobile home and trying to salvage any wood or metal they could.

“It could have been worse. Luckily, we hadn’t moved any of our personal belongings in yet, so we didn’t lose any of that,” said Landry, 20.

The fire started Saturday morning at around 10 a.m. from an electrical malfunction in a dryer outlet, according to Anson Fire Chief Jeremy Manzer.

Augusta

LePage seeks federal funds to create cold case squad

Gov. Paul LePage is seeking help from Maine’s congressional delegation to secure funding for the state to create a cold case homicide squad.

Lawmakers have approved a bill that would do so, but it’s among dozens that await final action because it requires funding. Many of those bills will likely die due to limited resources.

The bill, which would create a four-person squad within the Attorney General’s Office dedicated to investigating unsolved homicides, is expected to cost more than $500,000.

In a letter, LePage has asked Maine’s congressional representatives to seek federal grants or other forms of funding to support the creation of the squad. He says there are currently 120 unsolved homicides in Maine and that “families deserve to have those who murdered their loved ones brought to justice.”

Belfast

Maine to participate in day to collect unused medication

Maine is participating in a national day to collect unused prescription medication including commonly abused narcotic painkillers.

Nonprofit organizations and state departments are partnering to collect prescription medication in locations throughout Maine on National Turn-In Day on April 26.

In recent years, Maine has topped the nation in the number of pills collected per person through twice-annual take-back events.

A spokeswoman for the Waldo County branch of Healthy Maine Partnerships said commonly abused medications are often taken from elderly citizens who do not know what to do with excess pills.

Some of the prescriptions are powerful opioid painkillers that enforcement officials have said are part of a national drug epidemic.

– From staff and news services