An Old Orchard Beach town councilor is scheduled to make an initial court appearance next month on criminal charges in connection with a hunting incident that left bullet holes in a woman’s backyard fence.
Councilor Kenneth Blow and Tim Swenson, a local developer, were allegedly hunting on land near Cascade Road Nov. 20 when they fired at a buck running between them and a nearby house. The resident, Toni Macquinn, who was in her backyard with her dogs, spotted the two men and yelled for them to stop, then called 911.
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Macquinn said she heard three shots, including one that whizzed by her leg, and she later discovered two bullet holes in her fence.
Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan eventually charged both men with discharge of a firearm too close to a dwelling and with criminal mischief, both Class D misdemeanors.
It’s against state law for a hunter to fire within 100 yards of a home, a law adopted 25 years ago after a high-profile incident in which a Hermon woman was killed in her backyard by a shot fired by a hunter.
The law says a person is guilty of criminal mischief if he “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly… damages or destroys the property of another.”
Swenson had his initial appearance in York County Superior Court in Alfred on March 12 and his next court date is July 17.
Swenson’s attorney, Matthew Libby, said his client didn’t want to comment on the specifics of the incident outside of the courtroom.
“He’s disappointed criminal charges have been filed and he looks forward to challenging the state’s evidence in a court of law,” Libby said.
Neither Blow nor his attorney could be reached late Friday afternoon.
Blow is scheduled to make his initial appearance in York County Superior Court on April 15.
Blow, a partner in the well-known Blow Bros. portable toilet business, had just recently been elected an Old Orchard Beach town councilor. Swenson is a major developer in town.
David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
Twitter: @Mainehenchman
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