WINDHAM

Inmate accused of making threat to kill the president

An inmate at the Maine Correctional Center has been indicted for allegedly threatening to kill President Obama.

Leroy Eugene Dunn, 30, is accused of making the threat in April through a handwritten letter addressed to the president.

The charge of threats against the president carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

According to an indictment filed in federal court, Dunn wrote, “I hate you and will do anything I can to get rid of you. You will die at my hands. I will kill you Barack Obama.”

Stephen Smith, Dunn’s lawyer, said he believes the charge is a result of “some unfortunate medication changes.”

“It is our belief that Mr. Dunn should not be prosecuted,” he said.

Dunn, who is serving a three-year sentence for drug trafficking, faced a charge for making threats to Gov. Paul LePage last year. He pleaded guilty to terrorizing in February.

BANGOR

Minister met with accuser just before killing himself

Police say a well-known minister who was accused of being a pedophile met with his accuser just hours before the minister jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

The Bangor Daily News says the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department has closed its investigation into the Rev. Bob Carlson’s death, which was ruled a suicide.

Police began an investigation on Nov. 10, three days before Carlson’s death, after receiving an anonymous tip about abuse.

The accuser’s family told the newspaper the man was 11 when he was first molested by Carlson.

Carlson helped found Penobscot Community Health Care and Hope House, a Bangor shelter for those with drug and alcohol addictions. He previously served as chaplain for Husson College as well as the Bangor and Brewer police and fire departments.

BIDDEFORD

Police investigate ‘phunk’ after four smokers get sick

State and local police are raising concerns about people who are smoking “phunk,” an herbal incense that is legal.

Biddeford police released a report Friday on an investigation conducted with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency into three young men and a boy who allegedly smoked phunk they were given Tuesday at Tebb’s Head Shop on Main Street.

The report said all four became ill and were taken to Southern Maine Medical Center. There were treated and released, the report said.

Joanne Fisk, a spokeswoman for the Biddeford Police Department, said police believe phunk use is becoming more widespread, but it contains no banned chemicals and is not illegal anywhere.

FARMINGTON

Suspect charged with killing woman, 81, in her home

A grand jury has indicted a Massachusetts man on a murder charge in connection with the fatal stabbing of an 81-year-old woman in Maine last summer.

Juan Contreras of Waltham, Mass., has been held without bail since his arrest in November.

Authorities say he stabbed Grace Burton 35 times in her Farmington home last June. Police believe robbery was the motive.

The Bangor Daily News reports that Contreras, 27, was tied to Burton’s death through DNA evidence from blood found at the scene. He was living in Farmington at the time, a short distance from Burton’s home.

His lawyers have asked for a psychological review.

Jay man faces sex charges involving two kids under 14

A Jay man has been indicted on several sex charges involving minors.

A Franklin County grand jury on Thursday indicted Joshua Welch, 21, on one count of gross sexual assault and 10 counts of unlawful sexual contact against two children under age 14.

The Sun Journal reports that Welch was arrested last August on two counts of unlawful sexual contact. The indictment says the alleged abuse occurred from Jan. 1, 2007, to Aug. 15, 2011.

LEWISTON

Root Cellar mission hit by vandalism twice in week

A mission that provides clothing, free meals and a safe place for at-risk youth to do homework has been vandalized twice this week.

Chris Pope, director of The Root Cellar, says a rock the size of a softball was thrown through a double-paned glass door in the rear of the building on Monday, landing 20 to 30 feet inside the dining area.

Then on Tuesday, a rock was hurled through a front window. Police are investigating.

Pope tells the Sun Journal he is not angry. He says he wants to speak to the vandals to find out what motivated them. He says the mission will continue as normal during repairs.

GARDINER

Green-energy fraud brings 12-year prison sentence

A man who scammed dozens of investors, including several Mainers, in a phony energy scheme has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

James Rivera was sentenced on 10 counts of wire fraud and mail fraud in a federal court in California earlier this month. He also was ordered to pay restitution of more than $1 million to his victims.

Rivera operated a green-energy scheme under several company names, including Apostles Inc. and Almighty Wind, according to Maine Securities Administrator Judith Shaw. He solicited investors through word-of-mouth, telephone conference calls and webinars, targeting people with shared religious beliefs and an interest in multi-level marketing, said Shaw.

Ray and Carolyn Thompson of Brewer invested $30,000 after viewing information that falsely claimed Rivera’s businesses held patents on a new form of windmill technology. After realizing they had likely invested in a scam, the couple contacted the Maine Office of Securities, which worked with the FBI and federal prosecutors on the case.

MACHIASPORT

Man lost in woods rescued with body temperature of 83

The Maine Warden Service says a man who got lost in the woods in Washington County was hypothermic, with a body temperature of 83 degrees, when he was found.

Wardens were already searching for Levin Moores in Machiasport when he called 911 after sunset Thursday. He told dispatchers he was lost, and didn’t have shoes or a coat.

Dispatchers used GPS information from Moores’ cell phone to tell the Maine Warden Service the approximate area he was in. By the time an ambulance arrived, Moores’ body temperature had fallen to 83 degrees, more than 15 degrees below normal.

Hypothermia sets in when the body temperature drops to 95 degrees.

— From staff and news services