RUMFORD — Police on Wednesday arrested a Mexico man accused of stealing a chainsaw from Tractor Supply and threatening store employees with chemical spray.
Bryan Festus Wood, 35, was charged with felony robbery after police spotted him walking along Route 2 on Falls Hill, Rumford police said. They had been searching for Wood for five days in connection with a robbery Friday at Tractor Supply. Police had responded to the farm supply store for a report of a theft that turned into an altercation outside.
“Officers learned that a male suspect had stolen a Husqvarna chainsaw from the store and, when confronted by store employees, threatened to spray them with what was believed to be a chemical agent,” Rumford police Chief Tony Milligan wrote in a news release. “A good Samaritan intervened to assist the store employees, prompting the suspect to flee the scene on foot. Fortunately, nobody was injured during the incident.”
Through their investigations, police came to suspect Wood was the man who had stolen the chainsaw. That suspicion was bolstered by witnesses who positively identified him.
After his arrest on Wednesday, Wood was taken to the Oxford County Jail in South Paris pending a court hearing. But Milligan said he is concerned that Wood may not stay locked up for long, a fear based on prior experiences with the suspect.
Wood has a long criminal history and at one time was charged in a spree of arsons that took down a number of buildings in downtown Lewiston in 2013.
Years after he was charged in connection with the fires, Wood was deemed incompetent to stand trial due to his diagnosed low IQ. It was the second time arson charges against Wood had been dismissed based on court rulings of incompetency. The first time was in 2008 in Cumberland County when Wood was 18.
According to court records, when Wood was 4, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and mental retardation, now called intellectual disability disorder, making him eligible for special education services.
In 2013, he was charged with three counts of arson stemming from a fire that burned two vacant apartment buildings on Bartlett Street and an occupied building on Horton Street on May 6. He was 23 at the time.
After those charges were dropped, Wood was set free but was later charged with several unrelated crimes across Oxford County. In 2023, he was arrested, again in Rumford, on charges of criminal restraint, domestic violence, aggravated assault and domestic violence assault.
“Bryan Wood is well known to police throughout the state as he has an extensive criminal history in Maine, including prior convictions involving theft and violation of conditions of release and other offenses,” Milligan said. “His arrest and incarceration bring a level of relief and reassurance to the community, as a known menace with a demonstrated disregard for the safety of others is once again behind bars.”
