SCARBOROUGHFamily safely escapes after fire starts in home

Everyone inside a single-family home on Holmes Road got out safely after fire broke out in the house late Monday afternoon.

Scarborough fire Capt. Jim Butler said several people and a dog were in the home at 210 Holmes Road and fled to safety.

When firefighters arrived around 4:30 p.m., they encountered heavy smoke and flames shooting out of a second-floor bedroom. Butler said the fire damage was confined to the bedroom but the house suffered extensive smoke damage.

The owners found alternative housing Monday night. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Authorities shut down Holmes Road for more than an hour during the fire.

Drivers injured when police cruiser hits car

A Scarborough police officer and another driver suffered minor injuries in a rollover crash Monday at the intersection of Spring Street and Gallery Boulevard.

The police cruiser, a 2012 Dodge Charger, sustained serious front-end damage in the crash, which happened around 1:45 p.m. The other vehicle, a 1993 Volvo station wagon, was likely a total loss after rolling over and ending up on its driver’s side, Scarborough police said in a news release.

Officer Douglas Weed and the driver of the Volvo, Charles Altenbern, 60, of Buxton, were taken by ambulance to a hospital, each with minor injuries.

Scarborough police said it appears that the Volvo made a left turn in front of the cruiser and was hit on the center of the passenger side. The crash remains under investigation.

LEWISTONMan gets 74 months in prison for gun incident

A man with a prior felony conviction who was found guilty in connection with a gun incident outside a Lewiston apartment building in 2011 was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to serve more than six years in prison.

Brunel Constant, 34, of Lewiston was convicted May 21 of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Constant, known by the nickname “Jamal,” was found asleep on the porch of a three-story, six-unit apartment building on Walnut Street on Aug. 19, 2011. He argued with residents who approached him and threatened to return with a gun, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Moments later, Constant returned to the apartment building and fired two bullets into one of the apartments,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release, citing trial testimony.

In addition to 74 months in prison, Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Constant to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

PORTLANDPolice investigating robbery at Westgate CVS

Portland police are investigating a robbery reported late Sunday at a pharmacy at the Westgate Shopping Center on Congress Street. Shortly before 7 p.m., a man entered the CVS and approached the register. He handed an employee a note demanding money. The man then threatened the employee, according to police, and left the pharmacy with an undisclosed amount of cash. A weapon was not displayed.

Police describe the robber as a black man with thin mustache, 30 to 35 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds. The robber wore a dark baseball cap, black sunglasses, a dark gray fleece jacket and blue jeans.

Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to contact investigators at 874-8575.

— From staff and news services