September 14, 2026

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ALTHOUGH she is, by police records, only 4 foot 11 and weighs only 95 pounds, Erika Dunlap, 44, of Oxford battled her way into a court appearance September 14 in Oxford County District Court by tussling with three different men, two of them police officers. The action began September 11 when Oxford police were caled a house on Coldwater Brook Road where she has lived with her husband. The husband called because, he said, she had assaulted him, When two officers arrived, the husband met them outside the house and showed them a video that another occupant of the house had taken, showing her repeatedly slapping him. In court, Dunlap explained that she was trying to get him to leave the house, which, she said, had been required by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services due to issues over custody of their child. Her husband claimed she was drunk. Police found her inside the house and, according to their report, confirmed that she was intoxicated. She denied hitting him, but since they had seen the video, they arrested her on a domestic violence charge. She didn't cooperate, pulling back when they tried to handcuff her, according to the police report, and, as they were trying to lead her out, struggling with them so forcefully that one of them fell to the floor. The police report they had to use leg restraints, in addition to the handcuffs, to get the woman to the cruiser. Her pugnacity earned her a second charge of resisting arrest. On September 14, she was given $500 cash bail, or personal recognizance if she qualifies for Maine Pretrial supervision.

 

DADDY O'S restaurant in Oxford has a charitable program, offering a food pantry for anyone who needs it to take packaged goods for free. However, they don't expect people to break in after dark when the restaurant is closed to get the food. But that's what happened September 13 when the owner of Daddy O's saw people walking around in the restaurant at 9:20 at night. The restaurant had closed at noon that day, a Sunday. The owner was not there when police responded to his call; apparently, he had seen the people remotely on security cameras and described one as wearing a baseball cap. The Oxford police officers encountered Jessica Grover, 47, of South Paris, just outside the restaurant with a shopping cart and backpack full of food from the Daddy O's pantry, and wearing a baseball cap. According to the police report, they discovered that she has an outstanding warrant from December of last year for burglary. When they searched her, they found methamphetamine, and arrested her for unlawful possession of drugs as well as burglary. In the report, it was noted that, for sanitary reasons, “the food items she took will have to be discarded.” In Oxford District Court September 14, Judge Andrew Robinson encountered a confusing history for Grover, as it was unclear whether the warrant was still in force. The assistant district attorney noted, whatever the status of the warrant, that she still owes over a thousand dollars on a previous conviction where she was required to make restitution and that “she has a significant history of failure to appear and disappears for extended periods of time.” He urged $1,000 cash bail. The judge finally imposed a mandatory $25 a month payment schedule for the overdue restitution, and $500 cash bail, or personal recognizance with Maine Pretrial supervision,

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September 8, 2026

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TYLER HAMEL, 32, of Mexico was driving through Rumford September 8 with so many things dangling from his rearview mirror that Rumford police officer Dakota Wilhoite decided to pull him over for the minor violation of having an obstructed view out the back of his vehicle. The stop turned out not to be so minor. When Wilhoite turned on his lights, Hamel tried to flee, finally pulling into a driveway and getting out and trying to run away, according to the police report. Wilhoite pursued him and caught after using a Taser to immobilize him. When Hamel was searched, police state, they found 7.2 grams of fentanyl and a small amount of cocaine and tizanidine pills. According to the federal DEA, 2 grams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose. Hamel was charged with trafficking in fentanyl, and possessing cocaine and tizanidine. He was in court later that day before Judge Thomas McKeon who set bail at $1,000 cash or personal recognizance if he were to get Maine Pretrial supervision, with a return court date later this fall. Hamel paid the cash bail and was released shortly after his appearance in court.

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September 4, 2026

 

A NORWAY MAN already in the Oxford County jail waived extradition to Connecticut September 4 in a hearing before Judge Andrew Robinson. Convicted of “breach of peace and criminal mischief” in that state, Jack Cander, 25, the Connecticut warrant stated, “escaped from confinement or did break the terms of his bail or probation.” Robinson set a September 29 date for review of the extradition in case Connecticut should fail to follow through and get him, “to be sure he is not languishing in jail.”

 

THE DELICATE ARRANGEMENT between an estranged Brownfield couple to exchange their children for Sunday visits to their father fell apart last month when the husband, Derek Verrill, 37, made the mistake of saying something to his estranged wife as he was picking up the kids at a gas station parking lot in Brownfield August 31. The wife has a protection from abuse order against him which allowed the exchange of the children as long as Verrill did so silently. The couple exchanged angry comments and, unknown to Verrill, his wife was recording him. She reported him to the Oxford County Sheriff's department, and played the recording for a deputy. The deputy in term went to see Verrill on September 3, who made the further mistake of trying to deny he'd said anything. The deputy then played the recording for him and put him under arrest. Verrill appeared before Judge Andrew Robinson September 4, who found probable cause for the arrest and set bail at $2,000 cash with strict conditions of no further contact between Verrill and his wife.. A woman who identified herself as his mother was in court spoke up and told the judge that the no contact provision would make it difficult to continue the Sunday exchanges. Robinson noted that Verrill is not prohibited from seeing his children and asked the mother if she were on good terms with the estranged wife and could do the pick up. She was not, she advised the judge. The judge responded: “Well, whatever you anticipate for the exchange, be sure it does not violate the prohibition on any contact.” Further criminal charges could ensue, he warned. The mother indicated she was going over directly to the jail to pay the bail and secure his release.  Verrill is due back in court December 23 for a dispositional conference.

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August 31, 2026
by Rich Bergeron

 

RANDAL PORTER, 52, of Andover, Maine, appeared in Oxford County Superior Court on Monday, August 31, 2026, on charges of violating the conditions of his bail. According to a police report written by Rumford Police Officer Bradlee Gallant, Porter and his wife believed that a Protection From Abuse Order stemming from a previous incident between the two was no longer in effect.

The prior incident occurred on August 3, 2026. Porter's wife initially contacted Rumford Police that day about alleged threats made by her husband. She reportedly informed her husband that she was having an affair, and she told Officer Gallant at the time that Porter threatened to shoot her and the man she had the affair with.  

Police arrested Porter and charged him with Domestic Violence Terrorizing and Domestic Criminal Threatening on August 7, 2026. Porter's arraignment on those charges is currently scheduled for September 29th at 1:30 PM.

A few weeks after the first incident, on August 27, 2026, police received a call from a third party about the Porters. According to Officer Gallant's report, the caller expressed concern about the Porters being in contact with each other.

Officer Gallant checked the bail status for Porter and discovered that the suspect still had bail conditions to stay away from his wife, despite the Protection From Abuse Order being lifted. Officer Gallant also suggested in his report that Porter likely had firearms in his residence despite bail conditions forbidding him from possessing them.

Police were initially unable to locate Porter after learning that he may have violated his bail conditions. A "Be on the Look Out" or "BOLO" was issued for the suspect, as police reportedly learned he was driving to Brunswick to have dinner with his daughter. Porter eventually called The Oxford County Regional Communications Center when he returned to his residence, and police apprehended him shortly after his call.

Porter's appearance in Court on August 31 resulted in him being granted $200 cash bail after he pled not guilty to violating his bail on the prior charge. His arraignment on the latest charge is scheduled for December 4th, 2026, with Judge Thomas McKeon presiding. Aside from these two incidents, Porter has just one prior traffic infraction from October of 2000 on his criminal record.

CHRISTOPHER HUNT,45, of Mexico, appeared in Oxford County Superior Court on August 31, 2026, for an initial appearance on charges of Domestic Violence Assault, Aggravated Domestic Violence Assault, and a second count of Domestic Violence Assault. All three charges stemmed from an incident that allegedly occurred on August 30th, 2026.

Police responded to a complaint from the victim's son that evening. Oxford County Sheriff's Deputy Bode Gray responded to Charles Street in Mexico after the complainant reported that Hunt was assaulting the caller's mother and appeared intoxicated.The victim told Deputy Gray that she found a bottle of alcohol Hunt was consuming while she was searching for the television remote. Knowing that Hunt was on probation and forbidden from consuming alcohol, the victim refused to give the bottle back when Hunt demanded it. A struggle ensued where Hunt allegedly pushed the victim onto a bed in the home and placed his forearm across her neck, impeding her breathing.

After the scuffle was over, and just as police entered the residence, Hunt allegedly barricaded himself inside a back bedroom in the home and refused to open the door when deputies commanded him to do so. Deputy Gray kicked the door down after the suspect repeatedly refused to open it, finding Hunt lying in the bed and pretending to be asleep. Gray reported that he detected the odor of intoxicants when he approached Hunt and asked him to stand up. Hunt was allegedly unsteady on his feet while being escorted out of the home. He was then transported to the Oxford County Jail without further incident.

During his initial appearance in court the next day, Hunt's bail was set at $10,000 cash.  Hunt was back in court two days later on a motion to revoke probation from an earlier charge. He was still in the Oxford County jail from Wednesday's session since, according to defense attorney Maurice Porter, "he doesn't have that kind of money."  The judge order him held without bail on the probation revocation question at least until the hearing on the motion September 28.

The high bail in this case is linked to Hunt's extensive record, dating back to October 2000. At the time of this latest incident, he was on probation for a prior Operating Under the Influence case. He agreed to plead guilty to that charge in July of 2024. His next court appearance on the domestic violence case is scheduled for December 4.

JAMES PAUL CROSSCUP, 39, of Hiram, Maine, appeared in Oxford County Superior Court on August 31, on three Domestic Violence charges. All of them stemmed from an incident the night before with a man with whom he was living. State police initially responded to Tripptown Road in Hiram after receiving a complaint about a disturbance. Upon speaking to the alleged victim, police learned that Crosscup returned home from work and began arguing with him. Crosscup allegedly began throwing things around the camper. He then allegedly punched the other man and pushed him onto the couch.

A little later in the same evening, Crosscup allegedly left the camper, flipped over the grill outside, and retrieved a propane tank. The alleged victim told police that he was resting in bed after the previous altercation when Crosscup entered the room and swung the propane tank at him. The man stated he was not hit by the tank, but police officers observed blood on his chin. They also noticed his left ear was bleeding where he had an earring.

Crosscup claimed that there was only a verbal argument, according to police. Police also noticed that he had cuts and scrapes on his arms. Crosscup insisted those minor injuries were the result of moving some brush earlier in the day.
The court heard that Crosscup has no criminal record aside from the three charges he now faces. Judge Sarah Churchill approved a $2,000 cash bail for Crosscup. His next appearance will be on December 4th, 2026. 

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September 2, 2026

 

A DIXFIELD MAN was in court September 2 for assaulting his father, but his case was complicated by the fact, according to the police report, he was the one who called 911, and his father, in fact, had served jail time for stabbing him 8 years ago. Jed Sanborn, 25, was charged with two counts of domestic violence, including one at a felony level, and one of criminal threatening. He entered no plea since the case is headed for the grand jury. Sanborn called police August 31 after a fight with his father at the Dixfield home they shared. Sanborn claimed he was defending his mother. However, police state, his mother wasn't present. When police arrived, the father told them his son had been intoxicated, had beaten him and threatened him with a knife. The father said that his son often confronted him about the father's stabbing him in 2016. Both father and son displayed bruises to police. The mother arrived, according to police, coaxed Sanborn to hand over his knife and corroborated her husband's version of events. Since Sanborn had a previous domestic violence charge in 2024, police took him into custody. Judge Julia Pitney imposed a $5,000 cash bail, or $1,000 if he can get a Maine Pretrial supervision agreement, and customary domestic violence conditions including no contact with any of the parties in the case, no alcohol use and no firearms.

 

A ROAD RAGE INCIDENT brought Robert Sawyer to Oxford County District Court September 2, where he received a deferred disposition, meaning that if he stays out of trouble for the next year and a half, his record will be cleared. Sawyer was charged in a road rage incident in Porter November 8 of last year where he was pursued by a vehicle with three occupants who felt he had almost hit them, and displayed a rifle to chase them off, allegedly threatening to “kill them” if they followed him any further. The drivers of the other vehicle called 911. A Maine State policeman responded. Sawyer tried to claim that the other drivers had pulled their own guns out, but the police charged him alone. He was charged with several counts of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, the multiple charges being due to their being more than one person in the other vehicle. He was granted a deferred disposition by Judge Julia Pitney, by pleading guilty to the charges with the understanding that the plea would be withdrawn and his record cleared if he stays out of trouble until March, 2028, and would be released on personal recognizance in the meantime. If he is arrested again for any reason before then, the judge warned, the charges could be revived and the full sentence of up to five years in prison could be imposed.

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August 28, 2026

A dust-up between two young Oxford step-brothers resulted in one winding up in Oxford District Court August 28 charged with domestic violence. Landin Hotham, 21, was charged with domestic violence and violation of conditions of release after an incident at their mother's home in Oxford. According to the police report, Hotham was angered by his brother's refusal to open a locked door and let him in. When he finally found the keys himself, according to the report, Hotham punched his step brother in the face. The step-brother then called police. According to the police report, Hotham claimed that it was because his brother had threatened him with a broom handle. He was out on deferred disposition of an earlier criminal speeding charge, so he was arrested on two charges. Pleading not guilty August 28, he was released on $250 cash bail or personal recognizance with Maine Pretrial supervision with the condition he have no further contact with his step-brother. He is due back December 4 for resolution of the charge.

 

A Roxbury man, arrested and jailed earlier this summer on a domestic violence charge, has gotten himself further into trouble twice since by continuing his dispute with his girlfriend from jail. Jesse Arsenault, 39, has been in jail since the original incident in part because of new charges he keeps incurring. Last month, he got a friend to call his girlfriend to try to talk her into dropping charges. When jail officials, looking at the recordings of his calls, saw what he was doing, he was hit with new charges for violating the no contact requirement of his initial charge and tampering with a witness. Then, on August 21, he somehow managed from jail to take out a “protection from abuse” order against the woman. Rather than serving the order, the police brought new charges against Arsenault, including perjury and false swearing due to the statements he made to obtain the order, as well as harassment and violations, again, of conditions of no contact imposed on his prior charges. He will now remain in jail for months as court dates for the various charges stretch into December, and Judge Andrew Robinson ordered no bail for the probation violations plus $20,000 bail on the charges stemming from the attempt to hit his former girlfriend with a pfa order.

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Oxford County Court Report for
Monday, August 24th, 2026

by Rich Bergeron

32-YEAR-OLD JACOB BLOOD, currently in custody at the Oxford County Jail, had his case continued Monday, August 24, so the state could conduct a DNA test related to active charges of Gross Sexual Assault and Unlawful Sexual Contact. The Rumford sexual assault case dates back to January 12, 2026, when prosecutors allege Blood had non-consensual sex with a 27-year-old woman he knew personally.

The victim, now 28, reported the incident to police the next day, coming into the police department to tell her story.  The victim insisted Mr. Blood was intoxicated when he entered her apartment on January 12th. Blood's subsequent statements to police matched her account, but police reports say he also repeatedly insisted that he thought the two agreed to have sex that night.

The alleged victim insisted that the incident lasted about an hour, and she reportedly pushed Blood out of her apartment after it happened. She also reported that he bit her neck during the alleged assault, so officers took a DNA swab of the bruising around where she said Blood bit her.

Blood's attorney Ron Huffman took a trip to see his client in the county jail during a court recess to talk about the potential of a negotiated resolution of the case. Ultimately, he told the judge that Blood stood his ground and refused to entertain a plea. A hearing was held in his absence about the state's request for a continuance to conduct the DNA test.

Prosecutor Josh Klein-Golden insisted the lab would need about two months to conduct testing, and they just needed to take a "known sample" from Blood to proceed with testing. The prosecutor and the defendant's attorney also discussed the trial in the case briefly. Klein-Golden and Attorney Huffman both agreed that the case would require a two-day trial.

Huffman also made a plea for a reduction in bail for his client. Blood is currently being held on $50,000 bail. Klein-Golden argued against adjusting the bail amount, citing two juvenile sexual assaults on Blood's criminal record as well as a sexual abuse of a minor charge. Judge Thomas McKeon denied the request to reduce Blood's bail, finding that the amount "was set appropriately." The judge continued the case, explaining that Blood could still make a further written bail argument.

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34-YEAR-OLD WILLIAM RAWLINGS appeared in Oxford County District Court on Monday on multiple charges, including: Driving Without a License, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Failure to Register, and Violating Conditions of Release. The charges all stem from August 22, 2026.

A witness reported to police that they saw Rawlings operating a motorcycle at a speed of around 35-40 miles per hour on Main Street in Oxford. At one point, Rawlings reportedly stood up on the bike as if he was in pain, and then the vehicle veered off the road. One witness checked on the driver to see if he was alright and reported that Rawlings told her not to "call the cops."

Rawlings then reportedly secured a ride to the hospital, where he sought treatment for a burn he sustained due to the motorcycle overheating. Police confronted him there and learned that he did not have a motorcycle license or a valid registration for the vehicle. He also admitted to police that he used Methamphetamine recently.

Rawlings also has another open burglary case he was out on bail for, so he faced charges of violating the conditions of his release. During the afternoon session of court, the suspect's attorney spoke with Prosecutor Josh Klein-Golden and secured a negotiated plea agreement. Rawlings will have to pay approximately $500 in fines to put the case completely behind him and will still have to deal with the outstanding burglary case.

37-YEAR-OLD Dale Bowen wasted no time attracting police attention after his conditions of probation took effect recently. He was released from jail on August 20, 2026, after serving time for Assaulting a Police Officer, Theft, and Trespassing. He reportedly asked a relative if he could stay at their house for the night and get a ride to a fellow inmate's apartment in Norway the next day, where he planned to move in as soon as possible.

They to let him stay, but he left the residence at around 10:00 PM the night of August 20th. In the early morning hours, the relative received an alert on her phone from her video surveillance system. The system provided a snapshot of the recently released Bowen entering her boyfriend's GMC truck. The couple routinely left the truck unlocked with the keys inside. The sister reported the truck stolen in the early morning hours of August 21. Police later located the abandoned vehicle. According to the police report, Bowen went to the Best Western in Rumford and took advantage of the free breakfast. The staff called the police to have him evicted, and he was arrested. The keys to the GMC were reportedly still in his pocket. He is now on a probation hold, and he's being held on $5,000 bail. Judge McKeon appointed the same counsel from a prior case of Bowen's to represent him in this one. He will appear in court again on December 3rd.

 

46-YEAR-OLD Rodney Bean, of Woodstock, appeared in court Monday, August 24 on charges of Assault and Aggravated Assault in a Domestic Violence context. The August 22 incident that led to the charges allegedly happened at a home Bean shares with his girlfriend and her three children from a prior relationship. One of Bean's stepsons allegedly began having some effects from being off his medications. A fight with his siblings erupted in the living room of the Rumford Avenue home, and Bean reportedly intervened. During his attempts to stop the fighting, he allegedly put his hands on his stepson. The stepson told investigators he had some minor pain from the altercation, but he refused medical treatment. Police discovered at the scene that Bean already had an active warrant for his arrest, and they placed him in custody for that and the assault charges. Judge McKeon informed Bean that he qualifies for a court-appointed attorney. The Judge agreed to a $2,500 bail limit and ordered Bean to have no contact with the stepson.

Bean told the judge that he was the one who called the police on the day of the incident. He disputes the 22-year-old stepson's allegation that he put his hand on the boy's throat. He further explained that he's been sober for two-and-a-half years, completed rehab in South Carolina before returning to Maine, and also honored all the conditions of his probation there. He also explained that he provides for the household and the minor children in the home. Bean went on to state that he can stay at his mother's home in Norway while the case is pending, since a protection order is now in place requiring him to have no contact with his stepson. Judge McKeon allowed Bean to make a one-time return to the residence under police escort to retrieve any belongings he may need from there if he makes bail.

AFTER A tumultuous police raid on his property May 4, a Buckfield man was in Oxford District Court August 19 for an arraignment and dispositional hearing on charges of receiving stolen property, possessing and selling drugs and violating conditions of release. Brian McPeak, 52, was arrested May 4 by Oxford County Sheriff's deputies after a contingent of state, local and federal agents executed a search warrant at his Buckfield property. The agencies involved included the Oxford County Sheriff's office, Norway police, Rumford police, Maine state police, the federal ATF and EMS personnel. The law enforcement personnel allege they found methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack cocaine on the property and numerous firearms, including several allegedly stolen recently from a local gun shop. They also found a table with chemicals in the building, which the ATF agents identified as a “bomb-making table”, causing the search to be suspended while the Maine State Police bomb squad was called in. After two hours, the bomb squad gave the all clear and the search resumed. Another man found with McPeak, Roy Leet, 60, was arrested as well. In an initial appearance in court May 6, bail was set for Leet at $5,000 and no bail for McPeak. McPeak was indicted by the Grand Jury June 11. His arraignment and dispositional hearing were held August 19 and he is currently free on $700 bond. Leet is still in the Oxford County jail as of August 24.
 

A RUMFORD MAN with an alleged history of domestic violence against his wife was arrested for the most recent incident May 20, indicted June 16 and was due in court August 21 for an arraignment. However, the court was told the man, Nicholas James, 43, was in jail in York County and and the Zoom link was never established, so the proceeding was cancelled.
 

THERE IS AN ARREST warrant out for a Connecticut man who ignored a call from a Rumford police officer warning him not to violate a protective order by driving up to his wife's house. William Ashmore, 58, of Granby, Connecticut, wound up facing a charge of violating a protective order May 6 when he showed up at her Rumford residence anyway. Ashmore had contacted his wife, police state, to tell her he was coming up, so she called the police. A Rumford officer, according to the police report, called him back and left him a message that he would be arrested if he showed up. He showed up anyway, just after midnight, and was arrested. The DA asked $1,000 and 15 days in jail. There was a June 12 hearing in Oxford District Court but he failed to show, generating a warrant for his arrest. The case on the original charge remains open.

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A 25 year old Rumford man charged with hitting his girlfriend's 4 year old son in the face August 17 was released on personal recognizance August 20 after the Maine Pretrial Services agreed to supervise him. Logan Smith, of Rumford, was arrested after the child's grandmother found the child with a reddened face and bloody lip. Smith, who does not live with the child, was watching him while his mother went to the store. Smith admitted “tapping” the boy because the child wouldn't stop crying. Appearing in Oxford Court August 19, he was charged with assault on a child under 6 and endangering the welfare of a child. He is due back in court December 4.

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By pleading guilty, two women facing domestic violence charges in separate incidents both had their cases resolved before Judge Sarah Churchill August 19. Jennifer Durst, 50, was charged in an incident in Byron last March involving her daughter. She was given a 180 suspended sentence and a year's probation, with conditions including no alcohol or firearms, charged a $45 court services fee and released. Christian Burt, 39, was facing a domestic violence charge from a May 3 incident in Rumford, had her case put on a “deferred” status, to February 18, 2028. In the meantime, she will be free on personal recognizance and will have to pay a $10 a month supervision fee to the court. If she stays out of trouble until that time, the judge explained, the charge will be dismissed.

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Makayla Hamlin, 36, of Naples, was in court August 19 on a charge of shoplifting $59.95 worth of items from the Walmart in Oxford. She was on probation from a previous conviction and faced revocation of probation as well as a charge of theft by unauthorized taking. The police report also included a charge of possession of methamphetamine, but that charge was not included in the court proceedings. She was released on personal recognizance pending a return to court September 29.

 

A Rumford resident who arrested for driving under the influence August 13 after his fiance called police to report that he might be driving drunk, has been in court twice on complications arising from that. On August 14, Christopher Henderson, 36, of Rumford was in court on the OUI charge and accepted a plea deal in which he agreed to pay a fine of $500, with suspension of his driver's license for 150 days. But his problems weren't resolved because he was on probation as a result of a 2025 domestic violence charge and was back in Court August 19 for a hearing on revoking his probation. Since staying away from alcohol was part of the conditions of his probation, Judge Sarah Churchill noted that “he has shown a pattern of not being able to provide by the conditions of his probation,” she set bail at $750, an amount the defense attorney claimed he would be unable to afford. Henderson was, in fact, able to come up with bail, and he has been released from the Oxford County Jail. He will be back in court next week for an assignment of a public defender.

 

An alleged sexual assault on a minor four years ago landed Jason Monroe, 24, of Hartland, in Oxford District Court August 19, on two charges of gross sexual assault. The charges arise from Monroe's allegedly having repeated sexual contact with a 13 year old in Oxford County between June and December, 2022. The alleged victim, now 17, told police recently that Monroe, then 20, gave her alcohol and marijuana and, in one incident, took advantage of her when she was semi-conscious. The defense attorney explained that Monroe works as a farm hand in Hartland, and, considering how long ago the alleged incidents took place, might be able at best to afford a $250 cash bail. “He is working to get counseling,” the defense attorney stated. After the prosecutor gave a graphic description of several sex acts to which Monroe is alleged to have subjected the victim, Judge Sarah Churchill imposed $2500 cash bail, or $1,000 cash if the Maine Pretrial Services accepts him for supervision.

 

Lindsey Clark, 46, of Norway, was arrested, she told the judge August 19, only because she had a cellophane package of sugar in her purse. But the claim, voiced over Zoom as she watched her hearing from the jail, didn't derail the charges of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and violation of conditions of release from a prior charge. Norway Police officer Belaal Khan found Clark after responding to complaints of a woman going through parked cars and stealing milk from Cumberland Farms in Norway. Subject to search under the conditions of her prior release, she was found to have the packet, which did later test as sugar, but also drug paraphrenalia. Judge Sarah Churchill imposed $100 cash bail or personal recognizance if she can find a rehab facility pending her next court date December 4.

 

Michael Velez, 35, of Livermore Falls, was in Oxford County court August 19 facing counts of domestic violence assault and violation of conditions of release. Oxford County sheriff's deputies were called to the residence of his girlfriend's house in Dixfield after the couple had a fight over a cell phone. They found the woman, who is pregnant, bruised and with a ripped tee shirt, and who came out to meet them outside of the house. The police report stated that he was still inside, “breaking things”. They established a perimeter around the property and called on him to surrender. He came without incident and claimed that the cell phone was actually his and when he tried to take it out of her hands, she tripped and fell backwards, causing her injury. Velez had just been released from jail in Farmington the previous day and claimed he was aggravated because he had to walk all the way back to the house in Dixfield. Judge Sarah Churchill, noting, “there does seem to be a concern about Mr. Velez being able to abide by the conditions of his release,” but noting that he is employed, imposed a $500 cash bail, or $100 with Maine Pretrial Service supervision.

 

An intoxicated woman played a kind of game of hide and seek in Sumner with Oxford Sheriff's deputies August 15 after a former dating partner called them to report that she had been drinking, had fallen and was possibly going to hurt herself. Since the woman, Anna Hanley, 23, listed as transient, was also under conditions of release from a prior charge that she have no contact with the partner, the police responded but found that Hanley had fled the house on foot before they arrived. According to the police report, two deputies searched the neighborhood for 45 minutes before finding her hiding in an abandoned house. She was released from the Oxford County Jail August 17 on bail.

by Rich Bergeron

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Multiple defendants received positive outcomes at their appearances in Oxford Superior Court on Friday, August 14th. Judge Jeana McCormick congratulated them all for the "wonderful outcome" of getting their cases dismissed.

 

A few other defendants appeared for more serious criminal accusations, and they received mixed results.

Drewan Wickson, 34, of Buckfield, charged in an alleged drunk driving incident on December 10, was in court for a Rule 11 hearing, but it was continued to October 26. Wickson is facing four counts as a result of allegedly destroying some deck stairs and damaging part of a foundation while driving under the influence of intoxicants. The suspect reportedly caused over $2,000 in damages when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a residential building. His breath test reportedly registered an alcohol level of .08. Wickson also has a previous OUI conviction from December 2015.

 

Christopher Henderson, 36, of Rumford received a plea offer on August 14th shortly after his arraignment for an Operating Under the Influence charge from an incident of alleged impaired driving the night before. He will be required to pay a fine of $500, and his driver's license will be suspended for 150 days, according to the agreement drafted by Prosecutor Michael Haggerty. The incident occurred at Rumford Community Hospital on August 13, 2026, when a call came in from a woman reporting that her fiancé left her at the hospital and was likely driving under the influence of alcohol. She told police she believed he was returning to their Raymond Street home and that he had probation conditions that included not being allowed to consume alcohol. Rumford Police Officer Justin Cummings also noted in his report on the incident that he located Henderson at the residence. Cummings described finding Henderson passed out in the car, which was parked in the home's driveway.

 

Dusty O'Brien, 43, failed to appear at his hearing Friday. He was set to enter into a plea for misdemeanor theft charges, but prosecutors informed the judge that the defendant is currently being held in South Carolina on felony drug charges. The hearing was continued until October 16, 2026. O'Brien made the news across the state in December of 2024 for allegedly strangling his pregnant partner at the time. He has a lengthy criminal record in the state dating back to a 2001 traffic violation.

 

Roy Leet, 60, of South Paris, facing drug charges, had a Motion to Amend Bail hearing and Rule 11 Motion hearing scheduled for Friday, but his attorney insisted there are "federal issues" involved in his drug case, so both hearings were continued until November 30th.

 

Gregory Brill,45, a transient, had a probation revocation hearing set for Friday, but Judge McCormick authorized a 3-month continuance in the case. Brill's attorney updated the court on Brill's status, reporting that the defendant is now residing in a sober living facility. Brill is facing 7 criminal counts in his case stemming from a June 30, 2024 incident in West Paris where he allegedly eluded police after being pursued for speeding. He is also charged with failing to stop for a police officer, driving to endanger, having improper plates, and violating the conditions of his release in a prior case.

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A WATERFORD MAN was released last week from a year's confinement, both in jail and in the Riverview state psychiatric hospital in Augusta, but was almost immediately back in jail for ignoring the conditions under which he was released. Mario Angeloni, 41, was in Oxford District Court last week after a long stay at Riverview Hospital in Augusta. He had been charged with his attacking his mother last year. In the attack, he threw his mother down, strangled her and told her he was going to kill her. After his arrest, he was found incompetent to stand trial and sent to the psychiatric facility. Last week, the defense attorney told the court that doctors at Riverview believe he has been stabilized through medication, and in that in his current stay at the Oxford jail, “he has been a perfect gentleman”.

 

He was released on personal recognizance, pending an October 28 court date, with the condition that he reside in Wilton at a prearranged apartment and that he have no contact with his mother. However, on Wednesday, the prosecutor told the court that he had never gone to Wilton at all but allegedly went directly to his mother's house where police found him and arrested him August 10. Judge Andrew Robinson noted: “This contact does appear to have been done on the basis of consent.”

 

This was confirmed as his mother, who had been sitting in the courtroom, was allowed to speak and pleaded for the court to release him again. “My son's been working really hard on his issues and I'd really like him to come home. He's really a good man. I think we can work together on this.”

 

However, the judge agreed with the prosecutor that allowing him to return home might be unsafe for his mother. The Judge arranged for his mother to meet with a victim's advocate and noted that her point of view would be taken into account in upcoming hearings. In the meantime, the Judge ordered him held on $5,000 bail pending a September 29 hearing to revoke the prior bail agreement and an October 28 dispositional hearing on the current charges.

 

BOYFRIEND OR KIDNAPPER? That will be the question as the case of Michael Stickino, 32, of Lewiston, goes forward on charges coming out of an August 10 incident in Oxford in which he is accused of aiding an associate to steal an E-bike.

At the Oxford District Court August 12, he was charged with theft, but also with kidnapping since he physically restrained the E-bike owner from trying to prevent the bike from being taken. According to the police report, Stickino and the associate knocked on the door of a residence on Cheryl Lane and asked to come in for a drink of water. They were admitted, but the associate grabbed the E-bike keys and left the house to take the bike. When the owner tried to intervene, police allege, Stickino “blocked her with his body”. She escaped and ran next door to call the police. Police found Stickino a few blocks away and arrested him. He told the police that he was in a relationship with the bike owner and was only borrowing it. Due to pending prior criminal charges, he was charged with violating conditions of release as well as theft and kidnapping. He is being held at the Oxford County jail both on a $5,000 cash bail, and also without bail for violating his release on prior charges, pending a December 2 dispositional hearing. Among the conditions on his cash bail is that he not return to Cheryl Lane.

 

A MAN WHO PROVOKED A 12-hour police stand off in Norway last year was back in Oxford District Court August 12 on a new domestic violence charge and a charge of violating his probation order. Patrick McGinnis, 53, of Norway, was arrested last October after police discovered he was in a house on Main Street. McGinnis was wanted on eight arrest warrants, and he had been evading police since 2024. Police surrounded the home, but McGinnis refused to come out. Nearby homes and businesses were evacuated. After a 12-hour standoff, the Maine State Police Tactical Team went into the home and arrested McGinnis who was eventually released on probation. This week, he was arrested on a new domestic violence charge. On August 12, the defense attorney noted McGinnis would be willing to use his house as security for a new bail order. The judge then set bail at $5,000 or $20,000 surety, for which he might be able to use the house. He won't be released however, until the outcome of a September 29 hearing on the revocation of the previous probation. If denied, he would remain in jail on the previous charges. The new charges will be heard in court on December 2.

 

A HOMELESS MAN attracted the attention of police with a Dollar Tree shopping cart in a location nowhere near Dollar Tree, but it was his possession of drugs that brought him back to court August 12. James Lee, 63, was found with the cart at the corner of Beal and Winter Street in Norway. Police were apparently satisfied with his explanation that he just found it on the street, but since Lee was on probation from prior drug charges, they searched a camper at the site and found methamphetamine and gabapentin. Judge Andrew Robinson set his bail at personal recognizance providing he enter a drug treatment program, and return to jail if he is released, pending a dispositional heariing December 3.

HEAVY DRINKING in the August heat seems to be the common reason a Norway man and a South Paris man wound up in Oxford County District Court August 10, facing a variety of charges from two separate episodes where erratic and violent behavior seems, according to the police reports, to have been triggered by alcohol. ,

 

A PARIS MAN, Luther Mason, 66, was facing an array of charges after an August 8 incident in which he called 911 in the middle of the night. When officers arrived at his apartment around 3 am, according to the police report, they found him highly intoxicated. They had a lengthy interaction with him in which he was, according to the police report, yelling, aggressive and menacing toward them, threatening them at one point with a crucifix and at another with a rolling pin. When they finally tried to arrest him, they allege, he struggled with them before submitting. As a result, he was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, threatening to display a weapon, refusing to submit to arrest and disorderly conduct. After a bail hearing August 10, he was released on personal recognizance with a return to court in the fall.

 

A NORWAY MAN, Charles Lunt, 50, was arrested after a confrontation August 7 in which police went to a domestic dispute at a High Street address. They found Lunt allegedly intoxicated and arguing with a woman, destroying several of her possessions. Police state they had been warned that Lunt had a BB gun and had planned to display it in order, the police says, to bring about “suicide by cops”. The police approached the scene with a ballistic shield for protection and finally subdued Lunt by “deploying pepper balls” into the shed in which he was located. After an August 10 probable cause hearing on charges of criminal mischief and violating conditions of release from an earlier charge, he was released August 11 on personal recognizance with a Maine Pretrial Services supervision and a return court date in the fall.

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CURTIS THERIAULT, 44, of Paris, was arrested August 7 when police went to a West Paris residence for a probation check on another person, but ran into Theriault there. Theriault was out of jail on another charge under the condition he not possess or use drugs. Police found that he allegedly was carrying methamphetamine, they arrested him for possession as well as violating the conditions of his prior release. After a probable cause hearing August 10, he was released on personal recognizance with Maine Pretrial Services supervision.

 

TWO OXFORD COUNTY NEIGHBORS, opting to use the small claims process to resolve a years-long feud, got a lesson in proper legal channels during a small claims session August 11, when Judge Jeana McCormick advised them they were probably in the wrong place. One family was seeking over $9,000 in damages from the other because, they argued, the behavior of the other family forced them to build a fence, take firearms training, buy pepper gas and get prescription medication to deal with their anxiety over the harassement they claimed they had experienced from their neighbors. The other family, among other complaints, charged their neighbors with having an out of control and dangerous dog. Judge McCormick took the matter under advisement but stated: “I'm surprised this case is in small claims. You're seeking relief that's beyond the scope of this court to offer.” The judge advised them they should have pursued a “protection from harassment” case, but stated she would issue a judgment on the $9,000 claim after she had time to review the documents.

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THERE MIGHT not be much of a black market for Prozac, but Nathan Smith, 41, of Porter, was in the Oxford District Court August 7 charged with having some when he shouldn't have. Deputies were looking for Smith not for that but because he was a suspect in the theft last month of a trail camera. Before it disappeared, the camera caught the image of a tattoo on the arm of the thief and sent it to the cloud. Smith was known from prior arrest pictures, police maintain, of having a similar tattoo, so they went to a house in Brownfield, executed a search warrant, and arrested Smith for receiving stolen property. He also had the Prozac and no prescription, because, he said, he just “picked it up”. When told it was Prozac, he expressed disgust and swore he had no interest in consuming any. He was charged with unlawful possession of a scheduled drug anyway. At the August 7 hearing, he plead not guilty to both charges and was released on personal recognizance.

 

LYNZE COOPER, 36, was in Oxford County District Court August 7 charged with violating her house arrest orders from last month and going to Oxford Walmart despite a no trespassing order against her there. Cooper told the arresting officer she had to go to Walmart for a prescription, but the pharmacy was closed when the officer confronted her. She plead not guilty to all charges, and was released on personal recognizance with orders to resume her house arrest and not to return to any Walmart store. She is due back in court October 28.

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