AUGUSTA

Sheriff’s deputy’s shooting into car legally justified

A sheriff’s deputy was legally justified in shooting into the car of a man who tried to ram his cruiser after setting fire to his estranged wife’s home, the state attorney general said Thursday.

A report indicated Androscoggin County sheriff’s deputy Dennis Sampson fired three times after Michael Callahan tried to ram his cruiser. The deputy had been told Callahan, who had fired 90 gunshots in a standoff months earlier, might be armed.

The episode unfolded May 24 when Callahan was reported to have set fire to his estranged wife’s home in Minot and to his own home. Then Callahan rammed the woman’s vehicle repeatedly before Sampson chased him, police said.

Sampson told investigators that he followed Callahan’s damaged pickup truck until it stopped and backed up, forcing him to reverse. Sampson’s cruiser went down an embankment into a ditch, where he saw the truck rocking as if someone were moving around in the cab.

Sampson, a 23-year veteran police officer, fired three times but missed.

Attorney General Janet Mills said Sampson was legally justified is using lethal force because he thought he was in imminent danger. No one was hurt.

Callahan is awaiting trial on charges of domestic violence, reckless conduct, aggravated assault, reckless conduct and violating the conditions of bail and a protection order.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Alleged Broadway stabbing leads to additional charges

Two people were arrested after an alleged stabbing on Broadway early Thursday, police said.

A 42-year-old woman was stabbed in the leg around 4 a.m. at 1478 Broadway, police said. The woman was treated by paramedics at the scene and did not need to be taken to the hospital.

A suspect and several other people had fled, police said, but a short time later, two were found. Alanna Derrig, 20, of Portland was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, violating conditions of release and receiving stolen property.

Police said the incident began when Derrig and the victim, who are related, argued over a phone conversation Derrig had with a third party.

They said the receiving stolen property charge arose when police discovered that Derrig had several debit cards that police believe were stolen.

Raymond Lester, 27, of Portland, who was with Derrig when police found her, was arrested on two felony warrants for failing to appear in court on charges of forgery and theft by receiving.

LEBANON

Rollover crash in which driver fled is investigated

Maine State Police are investigating a rollover crash in which the driver fled.

According to Lebanon Rescue, the accident was reported around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday. When crews arrived at the site on Lower Guinea Road, there was no driver in the area.

They said the car apparently hit a tree, rolled onto its roof and came to rest, upside down, in the road.

The road was closed for about a half hour.

KENNEBUNK

Two men charged with drug trafficking in York County

Two men are charged with selling drugs in York County, Kennebunk police and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said.

Zoran Trajanoski, 26, of Wells is charged with aggravated unlawful trafficking in heroin. Kennebunk police said the charge is aggravated because he allegedly sold drugs near a school in Biddeford.

Matthew Danis, 26, of Arundel is charged with trafficking in marijuana and violating bail conditions. Kennebunk police said Danis was free on bail while awaiting trial on a charge of aggravated trafficking in heroin. In that case, he allegedly sold heroin to a Kennebunk man who subsequently died of a drug overdose.

Both men were arrested Sept. 12 after an investigation that involved surveillance and undercover purchases of drugs, according to police.

 

Police say scammer targets power company customers

Police say Kennebunk Light & Power District customers are being targeted in a scam.

According to police, KLP customers have been called by someone claiming to represent the utility and told that their bill is past due and power would be cut off within an hour or two without a payment.

The customers were then given an 800 number to call and make a payment.

Kennebunk police said they took reports about calls on Sept. 14 from several customers. No payments were made, they said.

Police said the 800 number was registered in Utah. Officers called the number and the call was unanswered and went directly to voicemail.

KLP officials said they would not attempt to seek payment on overdue bills in the manner that the callers did. Customers are urged to contact KLP if they get a similar call to alert them to the scam and check on their accounts.

GRAY

Bomb threat on wall leads to high school evacuation

Gray-New Gloucester High School was evacuated for about 2½ hours Thursday morning after school officials found a bomb threat in a bathroom.

The threat was written on the wall of the bathroom, said Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Shawn O’Leary. He declined to say what the note threatened, saying the investigation into the incident is continuing.

The note was discovered about 8:45 a.m., O’Leary said.

O’Leary said the school was searched by deputies, along with bomb-sniffing dogs from the Portland Police Department and Maine State Police.

Nothing was found during the search, he said.

A message left with school officials wasn’t returned.

DRESDEN

Man indicted for arson and theft tied to May blaze

A Dresden man has been indicted on arson and theft charges in connection with a fire in May that damaged his Middle Road home.

Robert Armstrong, 42, was indicted on two counts of arson and one count of theft, said Sgt. Kenneth Grimes, of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. It was unclear whether or not Armstrong had been taken into custody.

A Lincoln County Superior Court grand jury handed up the indictments last week. An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with formal charges and a trial.

Armstrong was charged with theft because investigators think the fire was part of a scheme to collect insurance money, Grimes said.

Dresden Fire Chief Gerald Lilly said shortly after the blaze, reported the morning of May 7, that the single-story, ranch-style home at 729 Middle Road sustained significant smoke damage, but it was salvageable.

Grimes said Thursday that the investigation has been ongoing since the fire.