PORTLAND

Two men plead guilty to attempted burglary

Two men who were investigated in a fatal shooting in Gray pleaded guilty and were sentenced Friday on charges of attempted burglary.

Marco Krauthamer, 21, of Freeport was sentenced in Cumberland County Superior Court to one year in jail and one year of probation. Shane Rackliffe, 21, of Chesterville was sentenced to seven months in jail and one year of probation.

Krauthamer and Rackliffe were riding in a vehicle that crashed on Orchard Road in Cumberland around midnight on Dec. 3. They were found in a nearby field.

At the time, police were investigating the shooting death of Mark White, 45, whose body had been found about a half-hour earlier outside his home in Gray.

Police say Krauthamer and Rackliffe intended to steal marijuana and cash from White’s neighbor on Whitney Road.

Deputy Attorney General William Stokes has said that Krauthamer and Rackliffe were investigated in the shooting, but were ultimately cleared. The investigation remains open.

Man, 63, gets 30 days for possessing child porn

A Gorham man was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail for possessing child pornography on his home computer.

Ronald Meserve, 63, pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court to four misdemeanors. He is expected to begin his sentence in June, and he will be on probation for two years after he is released.

Meserve was arrested in June 2009. He lived at 8 Newell St. in Gorham; one of his family members operated a child-care center in the home.

Officials have said the child pornography charges against Meserve didn’t involve any of the children who attended the center.

The property at 8 Newell St. was destroyed last week by a fire. Investigators believe the blaze originated in an electrical panel in a barn that was attached to the house.

Portland High starts global studies career program

Portland High School has started a global studies certificate program to help prepare students for careers in an increasingly global marketplace.

The high school has partnered with the World Affairs Council of Maine and the Council for International Educational Exchange to offer what is believed to be the first program of its kind in Maine.

The first dozen students began the program this month. They will study a foreign language for at least three years, take international social studies courses and participate in after-school seminars on topics such as cross-cultural skills. Each student will complete a service-learning project involving another culture.

Students must meet academic standards to qualify, and they must participate for at least two years. Requirements include four years of social studies, three years of a foreign language and a choice of relevant electives such as World Religions and Middle Eastern Studies.

DAMARISCOTTA

Former teacher charged with unlawful touching

A former fourth-grade teacher has been charged with unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching.

The superintendent of the Central Lincoln County School System told WGME-TV that at least one student has made serious accusations against Peter Simonds, who taught at the Great Salt Bay School.

The school sent a letter home to parents of his fourth-grade class Thursday.

Simonds has been ordered to stay off school property and is not allowed any contact with juveniles.

SABATTUS

Three teens charged in ice-throwing that injured driver

Three teenagers from Sabattus have been charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, more than a year after a driver was seriously injured by a large chunk of ice that was thrown off a turnpike overpass.

The boys, ages 16 and 17, were charged this week, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police.

Police say the boys were on the Webster Street overpass in Lewiston in January 2009 as Robert Deschaine of Sabattus drove on the turnpike below.

The teenagers allegedly threw a beach ball-sized block of ice off the bridge. The ice crashed through the windshield of Deschaine’s truck and hit him in the face, McCausland said.

Deschaine’s brother, who was in the passenger’s seat and also was hurt, grabbed the steering wheel and maneuvered the truck into the breakdown lane, McCausland said.

New information came to light in the past few weeks that led to the arrest of the three teenagers, McCausland said.