BANGOR

Group: No lapse by sheriff who alerted probe target

The Maine Sheriffs’ Association says it has found no ethical misconduct by Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross, who alerted a person that he was the target of a state police investigation. The person later committed suicide.

Ross came under fire from Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith after Ross informed the Rev. Robert Carlson about a child abuse investigation. The Bangor minister jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows bridge within hours of talking with Ross, who is president of the sheriffs’ association.

The Bangor Daily News reported that the association put together a three-member board to look into the professional propriety of Ross’ conduct and found no ethical breach of conduct.

Smith resigned from the association earlier this week after learning he’s also being investigated for his comments. Smith says he did nothing wrong.

FREEPORT

Police identify the drivers of vehicles in wrong-way crash

Police on Thursday identified the drivers of two vehicles involved in a head-on collision Wednesday night on Interstate 295 that killed a man who had been driving the wrong way on the highway.

Maine State Police said Daniel Cressey Sr., 78, of Gorham was driving north in the southbound lanes about 7 p.m. when he collided with another vehicle. Cressey was killed instantly.

The operator of the other vehicle, Mary Warner, 58, of Holden, was taken to a hospital with multiple injuries that are not considered life-threatening. A nursing supervisor at Maine Medical Center said Warner was in fair condition Thursday evening.

The accident remains under investigation, and state police were trying to figure out where the victim got on the highway.

Police think Cressey entered the highway at the Mallett Drive exit and drove the wrong way for about two miles, narrowly avoiding collisions with several other vehicles before the crash.

PORTLAND

Cause of 27-year-old’s death is not considered suspicious

Police are investigating the death of a 27-year-old man whose body was found Thursday in an apartment at Bayside Village on Marginal Way.

There were no obvious signs of foul play and police do not believe the death is suspicious, though the state medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death, police said.

The discovery was reported to police at 9:40 Thursday morning. Police have not released the man’s name.

Another convenience store robbed by person with gun

Portland police are investigating another convenience store armed robbery, the second one since Wednesday night.

Lt. Robert Ridge said a white male entered the Quality Shop, 473 Stevens Ave., around 8 p.m. Thursday night and displayed a handgun. The robber ordered two employees to get on the floor while he emptied two cash registers, then fled on foot toward Hartley Street.

Ridge said the suspect is about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing a black trenchcoat and a black hooded sweatshirt and had a scarf covering his face.

Police are also investigating a Wednesday night robbery at the Cumberland Farms store on Pine Street in Portland’s West End. A handgun was displayed during that robbery.

FARMINGTON

Board won’t dedicate bench to veteran killed by officer

Selectmen on Tuesday rejected a request to dedicate a memorial bench in a town-owned park to Justin Crowley-Smilek, 28, an Army veteran who was shot and killed by a Farmington police officer last year.

During the selectmen’s meeting, Michael Smilek, the deceased veteran’s father and a town resident, presented the request on behalf of his son’s mother, who lives in Portland, Ore.

The issue prompted a lengthy discussion about Crowley-Smilek suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the circumstances of his death and how veterans should be honored in their communities.

Smilek told selectmen his son and all veterans deserve to have their military service acknowledged, calling the memorial bench a simple gesture that many other communities encourage. He said society has mistreated veterans struggling with the psychological scars of war, a problem that his son faced when he returned home to Farmington.

Selectmen said they denied the request based on comments they received from residents who opposed the memorial bench because it broke with longstanding precedents for how existing veterans’ monuments have been handled at Meetinghouse Park, the proposed site in downtown Farmington.

Because other memorials in the park recognize all veterans who served in specific military conflicts, other than a World War II monument that lists individual names, selectmen said their biggest concern was setting a precedent by acknowledging a single veteran at the site.

RUMFORD

Man driving to school to get students is charged with OUI

Police have charged a Rumford man with driving drunk as he was headed to the local high school to pick up two teenagers.

Police say Kevin Nasatowicz, 52, was pulled over after he failed to yield at an intersection as he drove to Mountain Valley High School on Tuesday afternoon. He was pulled over by one of the school’s DARE officers.

Police said Nasatowicz was charged with operating under the influence after they determined that his blood-alcohol content was more than three times Maine’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Police told the Sun Journal that Nasatowicz was released on $1,000 bail. His arraignment date was not set.

AUGUSTA

Senate confirms appointees to courts and state agency

The Maine Senate has confirmed Gov. Paul LePage’s appointments of a district prosecutor and a family court magistrate to Maine’s District Court bench.

Senators voted Thursday to confirm the nominations of Nancy Carlson of Dixfield and Evert Fowle of Vassalboro.

The Senate also finalized the appointment of Patrick Keliher of South Gardiner as commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources. Keliher has been acting commissioner.

Carlson has been a family court magistrate since 1998 and before that was director of the state Bureau of Child and Family Services. Fowle was in his third term as district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties.

Senators also finalized the appointments of E. Paul Eggert for a third term as District Court judge and Joseph Field as an active retired judge of the District Court.

Bill to require a photo ID in order to vote is set aside

A voter identification bill that triggered a partisan fight last year before it was carried over to this year’s session has been set aside by a Maine legislative committee.

The Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to table the bill, which would require voters to present a photo ID before voting. The bill may turn into a broader study of Maine’s electoral system.

It was set aside as Maine’s chief election official, Secretary of State Charlie Summers, presented a report that identifies potential clerical and procedural errors in the state’s Central Voter Registration System.

Civil libertarians, seniors’ groups and the League of Woman Voters opposed the voter ID bill, saying it would dampen election participation. Supporters said it would prevent fraud and abuse of voting rights.

CONWAY, N.H.

Vandals knock down trees, damage logging equipment

Police say vandals caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to equipment belonging to a logging company.

Detective Sgt. Al Broyer told WMWV radio that a worker arriving at a wood lot in Fryeburg, Maine, early Wednesday discovered two logging skidders had been started up and rammed into other logging equipment. Trees on neighboring landowners’ property were knocked down as the skidders were driven through the woods.

The lot is owned by Fadden Logging and Chipping Inc. in Conway. It straddles the Maine and New Hampshire border.

Owner Tom Fadden says at least one bulldozer was wrecked.

Conway and Fryeburg police are investigating.