SANFORD

Police arrest local man, 29, in armed robbery of bank

Sanford police arrested a local man Wednesday in connection with a robbery at the Sanford Institution for Savings on Main Street.

Clint Deming, 29, of 25 Devotion Ave. was arrested at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of robbery.

Police were called to the bank at 2:35 p.m. Witnesses told them a man had shown a gun and demanded money from a bank teller, then run off with cash, police said in a news release issued Thursday afternoon.

Police were able to identify Deming as a suspect and arrested him. He is being held on $25,000 bail at York County Jail in Alfred.

SACO

Roofing worker burned when his pants catch fire

Firefighters were called to the old central fire station at 12 Thornton Ave. on Thursday morning for what was initially described as a house fire, but turned out to be a worker on the roof whose pants were ablaze.

The building is being renovated into apartments and commercial space, and workers were repairing a section of roof ahead of today’s snowstorm when the clothing of one worker caught fire at about 10 a.m., authorities said.

The worker was using glue and a torch to apply a sheet of rubber roofing when his pants caught fire, said Saco Fire Chief John Duross. Co-workers were able to smother the flames but the man received what appeared to be second- and third-degree burns on his legs, Duross said.

Rescue workers were able to get to the man using the department’s ladder truck then lowered him in a basket using the Biddeford Fire Department’s aerial platform.

He was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, which has a burn treatment unit.

An investigator with the state Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the incident.

FARMINGTON

Lawyer pleads not guilty to new charge of terrorizing

A Rumford lawyer who’s on administrative release after pleading no contest to charges of making bomb threats at two Wilton schools in 2012 is in trouble with the law again.

Ronald Hoffman of Sumner pleaded not guilty to a charge of terrorizing on Wednesday in Franklin County District Court. Bail was set at $1,000.

The Sun Journal reported that the 54-year-old Hoffman was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly told two people he was going to kill a family member.

The alleged threat was taken seriously because of his history.

During the 2012 court case for the school threats, Hoffman’s attorney said his client suffers from multiple diseases and takes 10 medications daily that often interact.

He was allowed to continue practicing law on a probationary basis.

WESTBROOK

Tenant heating potpourri in oven leads to fire report

Members of Westbrook’s Fire Department responded Thursday night to a reported fire in an apartment building at 43 Haskell St. but when they arrived at the residence all they encountered was a lot of smoke and sweet smells pouring from the two-story structure.

A fire dispatcher said the apartment building filled with smoke after one of the tenants placed dried, fragrant plant material – commonly known as potpourri – inside an oven.

Firefighters said the tenant thought that by heating the potpourri, the process would heighten the fragrance. No injuries or damage to the building were reported. The call came in around 6:23 p.m.

SANFORD

Crews stop fire in garage from spreading to home

Firefighters were able to prevent a fire in a garage from spreading to a home after a car inside reportedly caught fire.

Lt. Eric Neuberg said the department was notified at 5:47 p.m. that a car inside a garage at 52 Deering Neighborhood Road in Sanford was burning.

When crews arrived they encountered smoke and flames shooting from the garage but were able to stop the fire from burning the attached home.

No injuries were reported.

– From staff and news services