NORRIDGEWOCK — A local man was arrested Saturday after allegedly accusing his neighbors of kidnapping his girlfriend, threatening to kill them and firing three rounds at their house on Old County Road, police said.
The girlfriend was not kidnapped and had gone for a walk, according to a press release from Chief Deputy James Ross of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. William Longley, 46, was arrested at 5:48 p.m. and charged with aggravated reckless conduct, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, criminal mischief and refusing to submit to arrest or detention. Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the situation.
The sheriff’s office descended on Old County Road, an unimproved road off Beech Hill Road, at around 5:20 p.m. in response to a report that Longley was threatening to hurt his neighbors, according to Ross.
Shortly after, Longley called 911 and reported that his neighbors had kidnapped his girlfriend and stated that he was going to kill them all, according to Ross.
A third 911 call then came in from the original caller, reporting that Longley was in the driveway holding a rifle or shotgun and yelling that he was going to kill them all. The caller, a woman whom police are not identifying, was home alone at the time, Ross said.
She told a 911 dispatcher that Longley was shooting the gun in her driveway. The dispatcher told Deputy Wilfred Dodge, of the sheriff’s office, that the shots could be heard over the phone line.
Dodge and Skowhegan Police Department Officer Tim Williams were on their way to the scene as the woman reported to dispatch that Longley was walking back towards his house and returned with a handgun, Ross said.
Longley began shooting the handgun while pounding on the side of the house. He also smashed a glass door in an attempt to get into the house, Ross said.
When the officers arrived, they found Longley in the driveway. He was arrested at 5:48 p.m., according to Ross.
Police found three spent .30-30 rounds in the driveway and one live round, according to Ross, as well as three bullet holes in the house and a spent bullet in the house. He said there were no injures. The woman was “shaken up but okay,” he said.
Longley is scheduled to appear in Somerset County District Court Monday and is currently being held at the Somerset County Jail.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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