SANFORD

Afternoon fire destroys residence, kills two dogs

A fire that started Sunday afternoon in the kitchen of a single-family house at 21 Putnam St. destroyed the residence and killed two dogs that were trapped inside.

The homeowner, Robert Mahoney, was as not there when the fire broke out around 12:52 p.m. Sunday. A neighbor notified the Sanford Fire Department after spotting smoke coming out of the two-story structure.

Capt. Paul Morrison of the Sanford Fire Department said Mahoney was attending an out-of-state memorial service for a relative when the fire erupted in the kitchen area.

Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames in the kitchen when they arrived. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

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Morrison said the house had extensive fire and smoke damage and is not livable. The homeowner told fire crews that he would be able to stay with friends.

SACO

Victim of wrong-way crash hospitalized in fair condition

The eastbound lane of Interstate 195, the connector highway between the Maine Turnpike and Old Orchard Beach, was shut down in Saco for several hours Saturday night while police investigated a head-on collision involving a motorist headed the wrong way on the spur.

Robert Grant, 25, of Saco was injured in the 6 p.m. crash when his 2008 sport utility vehicle crashed head-on into a 2004 SUV operated by Frederick Lamb, 77, of Old Orchard Beach.

Lamb was driving in the wrong direction, heading west in the eastbound lane between exits 2A and 2B, said Saco police Sgt. Corey Huntress.

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Grant was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford, where he was listed in fair condition Sunday.

Lamb was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Huntress said the accident is still under investigation. He said it is not clear where Lamb entered the highway or how fast the vehicles were traveling when they crashed. No charges have been filed, Huntress said.

FAIRFIELD

Man charged with burglary after resident chases him

A man with a history of burglary convictions was arrested Saturday after a resident chased him down Norridgewock Road and told police he caught him in his garage.

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Arthur DiPietro, 23, of Waterville was arrested on four charges, including burglary of a motor vehicle, after police found the resident’s car keys on him, said Sgt. Paul St. Amand of the Fairfield Police Department. Police also suspect DiPietro’s involvement in another nearby burglary that evening, said St. Amand. Another Norridgewock Road resident DiPietro is familiar with reported Sunday morning finding damage and evidence of a break-in the night before.

“He actually removed a storm window and broke a window leading into the garage,” St. Amand said.

Nothing was taken from the home.

Saturday night’s burglary was first reported at 7:58 p.m. when a caller reported a man walking into her garage at 305 Norridgewock Road.

The woman’s husband told police after the incident that while Officer Casey Dugas was heading to the house, DiPietro fled the garage and he ran after him down the road.

“In his words, he chased him out of the garage,” St. Amand said.

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Dugas found both of them near the Big Apple on the Norridgewock Road not far from the home where DiPietro was first reported.

St. Amand said that DiPietro was “from what I gather, quite intoxicated.” The officer found a set of car keys on DiPietro belonging to the resident who chased him.

DiPietro was charged with Class D criminal trespass, Class D burglary of a motor vehicle, Class C theft by unauthorized taking and Class E possession of scheduled drugs.

– From staff reports


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