LEWISTON — A man facing with a long criminal history in Rumford was arrested Tuesday night in Lewiston and charged with firing shots at passing cars downtown.
Troy Blanchard, 35, of Rumford, faces multiple charges, including reckless conduct with a firearm, creating a police standoff, being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of scheduled drugs.
Police were called shortly before 10 p.m. for reports that a man was firing shots at passing vehicles in the area of Horton and Walnut streets.
One witness reported hearing as many as two dozen shots in the area and said he could see the flames from the barrel of the shooter’s gun.
When police arrived, Blanchard had barricaded himself in a vehicle with his weapon, according to a news release from Lewiston police.
“Police quickly secured the surrounding area and initiated de-escalation procedures,” the release said. “After a lengthy standoff, officers employed non-lethal force to safely remove Blanchard from the vehicle. He was taken into custody without injury.”
A witness reported that police shocked the suspect with a Taser before he was pulled from the car.
Blanchard was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn where he was being held without bail Wednesday.
His criminal history is extensive, particularly in the Rumford area.
In January, Blanchard and another man were arrested after allegedly stealing a car and then intentionally ramming it into a minivan driven by a witness to the theft, according to Police Chief Tony Milligan. One occupant of the minivan was injured in the wreck.
The suspects fled from police but Blanchard and 40-year-old Luis Alberto Rivera Jr. were later arrested at an apartment on Falmouth Street, Milligan said at the time.
After that arrest, Milligan had argued that Blanchard should be held without bail. However, Blanchard ultimately entered a misdemeanor plea deal and was eventually freed. He had remained free until he was charged Tuesday night in Lewiston.
In 2016, Blanchard was arrested on drug and gun charges after firing a shotgun on Falmouth Street, according to Sun Journal archives. At that time, a witness described Blanchard as “high and agitated” as he opened fire.
He was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison upon that conviction but served less than three.
Blanchard was involved in another police standoff in 2013 on Brown Street in Mexico that ended peacefully, according to Sun Journal archives. At the time, he was agitated and threatening suicide and, when confronted by police, ran into a stranger’s house and surrendered about an hour later.
Blanchard’s criminal history also includes a conviction for domestic violence assault in 2013, and at the time of the incident on Falmouth Street he was out on bail for that charge.
