SOUTH PORTLAND

Scarborough man indicted for tagging I-295 sound wall

A Cumberland County grand jury has indicted a Scarborough man on charges of aggravated criminal mischief, a felony, in connection with the letters “Bro” that were painted on the sound wall along Interstate 295 in South Portland.

The grand jury indictment of William H. O’Brien, 25, of 224 Pine Point Road, accuses him of painting the wall between November 2013 and January 2014. Police say O’Brien not only spray painted large black balloon letters on the sound wall at a prime entrance to Greater Portland but also tagged other pieces of public and private property.

Aggravated criminal mischief is a felony if the person responsible causes more than $2,000 in damage. Early estimates of the cost of repainting the sound wall were $3,000 to $4,000. The state planned to seek restitution from O’Brien.

Police said they were able to find O’Brien based on tips that were motivated by an offer of reward money. The reward had been posted by a concerned resident who wanted to remain anonymous. Police ultimately paid $1,000 for the information leading to O’Brien.

HERMON

Police identify 3 women involved in fatal collision

Authorities have released the names of the people involved in a fatal crash in Hermon this week.

Police say 60-year-old Karen Worcester of Carmel died in the two-vehicle, head-on collision on Route 2 at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two people in the other vehicle, 52-year-old Rebecca Chasse and her daughter, 29-year-old Rachelle Welch, both of Carmel, were hospitalized.

Police say Chasse was driving and became distracted during an argument with her daughter and crossed the centerline.

The crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed.

YORK

Two charged with selling pot after search of home

York police on Tuesday seized $22,000 worth of marijuana as well as prescription medication, hashish, growing equipment and other paraphernalia, charging two people with selling marijuana.

Police conducted a search at 55 Long Beach Ave., based on purchases there over the last few months, according to a news release from the York Police Department.

York police, assisted by police from Dover, New Hampshire, and Kittery, arrested Cedar R. Gordon, 40, of 55 Long Beach Ave. She was given an Aug. 20 court date.

Police also issued a court summons on a charge of trafficking marijuana to William F. Burke, 46, also of 55 Long Beach Ave.

GULF OF MAINE

U.S., Canadian scientists will study deep-sea coral

A team of American and Canadian scientists has departed for a two-week study of deep-sea coral in the canyons in the northern Gulf of Maine.

Martha Nizinski of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Anna Metaxas of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will lead the scientists. They left from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Wednesday aboard the NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow and will return to Newport, Rhode Island, on July 1.

The scientists will survey and investigate known or suspected deep-sea coral habitats off the northeastern United States and Canada to assess abundance, distribution and size. The cruise will continue work that began in 2012. The program is funded by NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology program.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH

Three photographs missing from display at Town Hall

Three photographs on display at Old Orchard Beach Town Hall have apparently been taken without permission and without payment to the photographer.

Assistant Town Manager V. Louise Reid notified the public of the missing photographs in an email news feed and asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward. She acknowledged that they may have been taken with the intention of paying the artist.

One of the pictures was of a lighthouse, while two were different angles of a Buddha statue.

The photographer, Wendy Barrett, said in an email to the Journal Tribune that losing three pieces that were of value to her has been difficult.

She asked that they either be returned or paid for.

GRAY

Two heroin overdose victims revived with Narcan antidote

Two people who were found unconscious and not breathing Tuesday night in Gray were revived with the overdose antidote Narcan, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

Police say a 911 caller reported that she went to her son’s home on Shaker Road and found his 38-year-old girlfriend unconscious and not breathing.

When sheriff’s deputies and Gray rescue arrived at the scene, they found the caller’s 34-year-old son also unconscious and not breathing. Signs in the home indicated the two had taken an overdose of heroin.

Both patients were transported to Maine Medical Center and are recovering.

The sheriff’s office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency are investigating.

BRUNSWICK

Recount confirms tally in Democratic primary

A recount in the Democratic primary contest for the House District 50 seat shows that Ralph Tucker defeated his opponent, Jacqueline A. Sartoris, by 10 votes.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said the recount was concluded Wednesday at the Department of Public Safety Headquarters in Augusta. Tucker was declared the winner by a final margin of 442 to 432.

Dunlap praised Brunswick election officials, noting the recount numbers were the same totals tallied on election night by Brunswick Town Clerk Fran Smith and her staff.

Dunlap said the recount “was very smooth with no surprises.”

House District 50 represents a part of Brunswick. Tucker, a retired District Court judge, will face Republican Mark Holbrook in the November general election.

Sartoris is a former Brunswick town councilor.

AUBURN

Man files lawsuit over arrest, saying rights were violated

A former Lewiston man has filed a lawsuit against the city’s police chief and three officers in connection with his arrest last year.

Ali Mahmoud filed a complaint this week in Androscoggin County Superior Court alleging his civil rights were violated because police falsely arrested him last July and used excessive and unreasonable force against him. In his suit, Mahmoud said police injured him physically and caused him emotional distress and psychological injuries. He says the charges against him were dropped.

Mahmoud was arrested for allegedly assaulting a tow truck driver who was towing his car. Mahmoud denied assaulting the driver.

A lawyer for police told the Sun Journal that Mahmoud’s version of events is incomplete and inaccurate and he was later issued a summons to face the charges.

YARMOUTH

Tree falls on power lines, knocks out power to 2,300

Power has been restored to hundreds of customers in Yarmouth who lost their electrical service Wednesday after a tree fell on power lines on West Elm Street.

A dispatcher for Central Maine Power Co. said the outage was reported at 12:15 p.m. Power to all of the affected customers – roughly 2,300 in all – was restored about an hour later.

The National Weather Service reported that winds in Portland were gusting to about 33 mph at midday and a 41 mph gust was measured in Rochester, New Hampshire, as a low-pressure area that brought thunderstorms overnight moved off to the east.

Thursday should bring cooler and drier air with lighter winds, a weather service spokesman said.

GORHAM

Probe of fuel truck rollover, cleanup effort continuing

The investigation into a crash that caused a truck carrying 9,500 gallons of diesel fuel and kerosene to roll over June 11 at the Gorham rotary is continuing while the Maine Department of Environmental Protection oversees the cleanup effort.

Lt. Chris Sanborn of the Gorham Police Department said police are still looking to speak to the driver of a blue or black Honda CRV that allegedly cut off the truck’s driver, causing him to lose control. The truck was owned by the J.P. Noonan company of Gorham. No charges have been filed against the truck driver.

Jessamine Logan, the DEP’s spokeswoman, said crews from Clean Harbors Inc. have been able to recover about 7,400 gallons of spilled fuel. A small amount of fuel – she could not be more specific – made it into Strout Brook, a tributary of the Stroudwater River. Logan said 600 gallons of fuel remained in the truck’s storage tanks, and did not spill out.

Police are cautioning motorists who use the rotary at routes 114 and 112 that they may encounter traffic delays as the oil spill effort continues.

Logan said it could days, possibly weeks, before the cleanup is completed.

— From staff and news services