Ellsworth

Man shot and wounded by trooper following standoff

A man was shot and wounded by a Maine state trooper Sunday morning following a standoff in Ellsworth that began Saturday.

Jeffrey Barnard, 50, underwent surgery Sunday afternoon at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. His condition was not available Sunday night.

Barnard was shot about 6:30 a.m. Sunday by Maine State Trooper Scott Duff, a 17-year veteran, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Barnard’s wife, Vicki, 56, was also involved in the standoff but was not hurt.

The standoff began at a camper parked on North Street, where Ellsworth police had cited Barnard for a violation on Friday.

At noon Saturday a team of negotiators arrived to try to resolve the situation, McCausland said. A Maine State Police tactical team then responded to the scene overnight.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office is investigating the incident.

Duff, a member of the tactical team, has been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is standard procedure.

St. FRANCIS

Search continues for man suspected in girlfriend’s death

The search for a St. Francis man police suspect in the shooting death of his girlfriend continued Sunday in St. Francis, a small town in northern Aroostook County.

Jesse Marquis, 38, was still at large late Sunday night after the fatal shooting of Amy Theriault, 31, at a home at 754 Main St., in St. Francis on Saturday morning.

There has been no sign of him, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Marquis was last seen shortly after the shooting at 5:45 a.m. Saturday entering the woods behind the home with a rifle.

Maine State Police, the Maine Warden Service, the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and federal border officials are involved in the search around St. Francis, which is on the Canadian border.

Police describe Marquis as 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds with blue eyes and black hair. He was wearing bluejeans, a green hooded sweatshirt and a Cabela’s ball cap. He is described as armed and dangerous.

Sherman

Man dies when ATV loses a wheel during a ride

A Stacyville man died in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday night in Sherman.

The Maine Warden Service said Bryon Jacobs, 38, was operating the ATV with a 16-year-old male passenger when it overturned on a trail northeast of Interstate 95, near mile 266 south.

The teenager placed the call for help. Wardens said it appears the left front tire of the ATV may have fallen off, causing it to overturn. Jacobs suffered a head injury. He was not wearing helmet. He died at the scene.

The teen was taken to Houlton Regional Hospital with a head injury.

The accident remains under investigation, the warden service said.

Allagash

Motorcycle goes off the road, killing Westbrook man

A Westbrook man was killed in a motorcycle crash Saturday in Allagash.

Dana Watts, 23, was traveling east on Route 161, also known as Dickey Road, when the 2003 Kawasaki motorcycle went around a bend and left the road about 5:43 p.m., the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office said.

Police said speed may have been a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Police said Watts was wearing a helmet.

Dexter

Dirt bike collides with car, killing teenage bike rider

A 19-year-old man was killed Saturday night when his dirt bike collided head-on with a compact car in Dexter, police said.

Dexter Police Chief Kevin Wintle said the man was operating a 2007 Honda dirt bike on Route 23 in Dexter and headed in the direction of Ripley when his bike crossed into the path of an oncoming Dodge Neon, according to WLBZ-TV in Bangor, a sister station of WCSH-TV in Portland.

There were three people in the car. Two of those occupants – both female – were taken to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, where they were treated and released.

Wintle said the dirt bike rider did not have a headlight on his bike but was wearing a helmet. He died at the scene. The accident took place around 10 p.m.

Police are withholding the name of the rider pending notification of his relatives.

West Gardiner

Traffic stop leads to heroin trafficking charges

An Aroostook County man is facing a drug trafficking charge after police reportedly uncovered thousands of dollars’ worth of heroin during a traffic stop in West Gardiner.

Joseph P. Long, 24, of Island Falls was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in Schedule W drugs (heroin), a Class A offense.

Long was being held Sunday at the Kennebec County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Maine State Police Trooper Chris Rogers stopped Long’s car in the northbound lane of Interstate 295 around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Rogers said there was drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the vehicle.

The discovery led to a search of the vehicle that Rogers said turned up about 10 grams of heroin. Rogers said he found additional bags of heroin Long had hidden on his person.

“The street value of the heroin is $5,000,” Rogers said.

Long is expected to make an initial court appearance Monday.

Augusta

Federal representatives push for cold-case funding

Maine’s representatives in Washington are urging the federal government to provide funding to allow the state to create a cold case homicide squad.

Democratic Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree recently sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for support for Maine’s application for a federal grant.

Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill in April that which would create a four-person squad within the attorney general’s office dedicated to investigating unsolved homicides. But the measure is expected to cost more than $500,000 and the state says it needs help from the federal government to pay for it.

Officials say there are more than 100 cold cases in the state, some dating back decades.

Portland

Nominations due for Landowner of the Year

Maine will honor its Landowner of the Year based on nominations that are due June 6.

The state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife uses the award to honor private and public landowners that allow public access to their lands. More than 90 percent of Maine’s land is privately owned.

The award categories include private landowner with less than 100 acres; private landowner with more than 100 acres; corporate landowner; public landowner and conservation landowner.

Nomination forms are available by emailing heather.rodrigue@maine.gov or calling 547-5305. Previous winners have included the Penobscot Indian Nation and Cyr Potato Corp. of St. David.

Minority health conference slated for June 13 at UNE

The University of New England’s Portland campus will host the fourth annual Maine Minority Health Conference on June 13.

The event will take place from 7 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. at the Stevens Avenue campus. This year’s theme is “Prevention is Power: The Triple Aim and Taking Action for Health Equity.”

The event’s keynote speaker will be James Harnar, executive director of the Hanley Center for Health Leadership in Portland. The event is organized by the city of Portland’s Minority Health Program, the Maine Center for Disease Control’s Office of Health Equity, the Maine AIDS Education and Training Center and the University of New England.

The conference is free and open to the general public as well as health care professionals, community groups, students and parents.

– From staff and news services