WATERBORO

Two Sanford High students charged in sex toy prank

Two Sanford High School seniors were charged with disorderly conduct this week after they escalated the rivalry between Sanford and Massabesic high schools by leaving a sex toy with an explicit note for students at the high school in Waterboro.

The package was found at 7 a.m. Saturday, the day after a football game between the two high schools was postponed because of a threat of violence.

The package, wrapped in Christmas paper, was labeled with a tag that read “To Massabesic from Sanford” and left outside the athletic director’s office. Police found the box contained a sex toy “and an explicit note describing what they could do with the toy,” said York County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy William King in a written release.

Massabesic School Resource Officer Jason Solomon identified two suspects Tuesday, both seniors at Sanford High.

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Solomon charged each with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. Isaac Sweeney, 18, of Springvale is expected to appear in court on Feb. 25. The second suspect, a juvenile, was not identified.

“Both expressed remorse over the incident that they initially viewed as an innocent prank,” King said.

Sweeney and the juvenile also face punishment from school officials.

PORTLAND

High court upholds murder conviction in 2010 killings

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has upheld murder convictions for a 23-year-old man whose lawyer said he was “played” by a skilled law enforcement officer during an interrogation.

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The defense contended Thayne Ormsby’s remark that “I’m going to have to plead the fifth on that one” should have been enough for the detective to end the interrogation.

But the court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that Ormsby’s confessions were made voluntarily and that their admission during his trial didn’t violate his Fifth Amendment rights.

The court also upheld his sentence of three life terms.

Ormsby was convicted last year of three counts of murder and one count of arson for the 2010 stabbing deaths of Jeffrey Ryan, his 10-year-old son and a family friend in the town of Amity.

Man pleads guilty for failing to register as sex offender

A man convicted of a sex offense in Arizona who came to Maine in 2012 without registering here as a sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court in Portland on Tuesday.

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Robert Wayne Lyon, 27, who had lived at various addresses in Wells in 2012 pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland, before U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen to a charge of failing to register with the Maine Sex Offender Registry..

Lyon had pleaded guilty in Arizona in 2007 to a charge of sexual conduct with a minor, a crime that requires him to register under state and federal law following his release, which he acknowledged when he updated his registration in Arizona in 2009, according to court records.

Lyon is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 11 and will face up to 10 years in prison.

AUGUSTA

Psychiatric hospital funding problems seen near solution

Gov. Paul LePage’s top health official says the funding problems at a state-run psychiatric hospital still haven’t been solved, but could be soon.

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Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew told lawmakers on Tuesday she is optimistic that federal regulators will return soon to inspect the Riverview Psychiatric Center and will find that the hospital should start receiving federal funds again.

The hospital lost $20 million, or about half of its operating budget, in federal funding earlier this month. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited problems surrounding the creation of two separate units at the 92-bed facility.

Mayhew says the state has also initiated a legal appeal to the federal government’s decision. She says the first proceeding in that appeal is later this week.

Veterans benefits fair to be held in Lewiston armory

Maine veterans will have a chance to learn about health care, education and job opportunities throughout the state next month.

A benefits fair hosted by the Lewiston and Auburn Military & Community Network will be held Nov. 16 at the National Guard Armory on Alfred Plourde Parkway in Lewiston.

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It will feature more than 40 organizations that provide benefits to veterans in areas including personal finances, traumatic brain injury, elder and children’s services.

Chip Morrison, president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, will speak at the event.

KENNEBUNK

Lawn mower rider charged with drunken driving

A Kennebunk man has been charged with drunken driving for allegedly driving a riding lawn mower from his home to a convenience store to buy beer.

Police say Tony Caulder, 51, was turned away by store employees when he tried to buy beer one afternoon this month because they thought he was drunk.

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Officials told WMTW-TV that the employees followed Caulder outside to make sure he wasn’t getting into a car and called police when he rode off on the lawn mower.

Police charged him with operating under the influence after stopping him a short time later. Nobody answered at a phone listed in Caulder’s name.

HAMPDEN

Police identify body of woman found in river

Maine State Police say the body of a woman recovered from the Penobscot River has been identified.

The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman Tuesday as Barbara Goodwin, 51, of the Bangor area. An autopsy found that her death was consistent with drowning.

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The body was found Monday morning by kayakers.

Detectives say Goodwin was last seen in Bangor on Thursday leaving a medical provider’s office. The investigation into where and how she went into the water is continuing.

SMYRNA

Trooper, driver injured when pickup skids into car

A Maine state trooper and a 19-year-old woman required treatment after a pickup truck lost control on black ice and crashed into the woman’s car, which had already skidded off the road.

Police say Jayde McNinch of Littleton lost control of her car on Interstate 95 in Smyrna and skidded into the median Monday night. While Trooper Jill Monahan investigated, a truck driven by Eric Clark, 37, of Houlton skidded on the ice and crashed into McNinch’s car, which then struck Monahan and knocked her to the ground.

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McNinch was partially ejected and dragged by her car as it spun away. McNinch and Monahan were treated at Houlton Regional Hospital for leg and arm injuries and released.

Officials say Clark’s truck crashed into a tree, but he wasn’t injured.

CLINTON

Rehabilitated peregrine falcon released into wild

A young peregrine falcon that has been undergoing rehabilitation has been released into the wild in central Maine.

The male peregrine was set free Monday along the banks of the Kennebec River in Clinton.

The bird was found with a leg injury in New Sharon in August and was nursed back to health at the Avian Haven rehabilitation center.

The peregrine falcon is listed as an endangered species in Maine. Wildlife officials say there are only an estimated 25 pairs in the state.


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