WASHINGTON — A year ago, when Maryland became the 18th state to abolish the death penalty, it changed the stakes for an accused killer sitting in the Prince George’s County, Md. jail. Darrell Bellard, 47, might have been the first defendant sent to the state’s death row in more than a decade. Instead, prosecutors are […]
trial
Sabattus man gets 15 years in prison for assaults on preteen
AUBURN — A Sabattus man who pleaded guilty to nearly a dozen counts of gross sexual assault over several years against a preteen girl was sentenced Wednesday to serve 15 years in prison. A reproving Androscoggin County Superior Court judge sentenced Michael Gagnier, 34, of 20 High St. to 25 years in prison, with 10 […]
Jury deliberations continue in Farmington trial
FARMINGTON — A Franklin County jury will continue its deliberations Friday in the case of a Madrid Township man accused of sexually assaulting and sexually abusing a teenage boy from Massachusetts in 2008 and 2009. Justice Nancy Mills sent the jury home Thursday afternoon after it met for six hours without reaching verdicts in the […]
Madrid Township man’s sexual assault trial to continue Thursday
FARMINGTON — The trial of a Madrid Township man accused of sexually assaulting and abusing a teenage boy in 2008 and 2009 began Wednesday morning in Franklin County Superior Court. John A. Fahnley, 59, was indicted in 2013 on one felony count of gross sexual assault and two felony counts of sexual abuse of a […]
Portland man gets 14½ years for having child pornography a 2nd time
PORTLAND — A local man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 14½ years in federal prison for possessing child pornography and violating his supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It was the second time since 2001 that Timothy Majeroni, 46, of Portland has been sentenced to federal prison for the same […]
MDEA agent: Slug bait, porn magazines link Township 37 pot farm to locations owned by defendant
BANGOR — The lead investigator in the Township 37 marijuana case testified Friday in federal court that many of the items seized as evidence at the site where nearly 3,000 mature marijuana plants were cultivated also were found at a nearby warehouse and in a home and hunting camp owned by one of the defendants. […]
Fraud trial delayed for Vt. man found responsible for deaths in gunpowder plant explosion
BANGOR — The trial of a Vermont man serving a sentence in New Hampshire for manslaughter has been set for next month in federal court while his attorneys attempt to reach a settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Craig Sanborn, 64, of Maidstone, Vt., pleaded not guilty in February to one count of wire fraud […]
The killing of Romeo Parent
AUBURN — Nothing about the slaying of Romeo Parent was simple. In early April, police began to hear rumblings that harm may have come to the 20-year-old Lewiston man. For days, they searched, following up leads and questioning potential witnesses. On April 12, a Maine State Police diver descended into the frigid waters of Jug […]
Calais man convicted of six child sex assault crimes, acquitted of two others
MACHIAS — A Calais man accused of sexually abusing three young girls was found guilty Friday of six of the eight charges filed against him. The Washington County Superior Court jury of six men and six women found Clifford Thornton II, 52, not guilty of the most serious charge of gross sexual assault and guilty […]
Jury convicts Tenants Harbor man of murder in drug dispute with friend
ROCKLAND — A Knox County jury deliberated for three hours Friday afternoon before convicting a Tenants Harbor man of murder in the shotgun slaying of his friend 14 months ago. Andrew J. Kierstead, 41, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison with a possibility of life behind bars. Kierstead admitted shooting his friend, but […]