AUGUSTA — Burglary and theft charges lead the indictments handed up Friday by a grand jury in Kennebec County.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with formal charges and a trial.

Two men are accused of breaking into a woman’s home in Augusta and stealing a firearm and television.

Cody Fielder, 20, of Vassalboro, and Jake L. Foster, 21, of Augusta, each were indicted on charges of burglary and two counts of theft by unauthorized taking — one involving a firearm — which allegedly occurred Jan. 24, 2016, in Augusta. Foster also faces a charge of violation of a protective order in connection with the same incident.

Two people from Portland are charged with stealing more than $1,000 worth of textbooks from Colby College last September.

Rhianna Twomey, 23, and Dan Bracy Doody, 34, each were indicted on two counts of theft by unauthorized taking, which allegedly occurred Sept. 15 and 18, 2015, in Waterville.

Here is a list of others indicted Friday and the charges:

• Dasheene J. Bowman, 41, of Brooklyn, New York, aggravated trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to commit aggravated trafficking in heroin and criminal forfeiture of $31,970, Jan. 3-28, 2016, in Waterville.

• James R. Brann, 30, of Augusta, two counts of possession of sexually explicit materials of minors under age 16 July 30, 2015, in Augusta.

• Nicholas J. Costas, 27, of Augusta, domestic violence terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence assault and obstructing report of a crime or injury Jan. 29, 2016, in Augusta.

• Jose Diaz, 25, of Augusta, aggravated trafficking in heroin, aggravated trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to commit aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs and criminal forfeiture of $31,970, Jan. 1-28, 2016.

• Michael Evans, 32, of Winslow, aggravated operating after habitual offender revocation, operating after revocation and criminal operating under the influence Sept. 5, 2015, in Winslow.

• Lisa Marie Gosselin, 41, of Edgecomb, theft by unauthorized taking Dec. 22, 2015, in China.

• Steven R. Hall, 59, of Augusta, aggravated criminal operating under the influence and operating beyond license condition or restriction Feb. 15, 2016, in Readfield.

• Mark D. Halle, 32, of Waterville, two counts of gross sexual assault and one count each of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and terrorizing with a dangerous weapon Feb. 7, 2016, in Waterville. Halle was arrested Feb. 8 by Waterville police and charged with breaking into the home of a 73-year-old woman and sexually assaulting her at gunpoint.

• Benjamin James Lajoie, 25, of Vassalboro, aggravated criminal mischief and unauthorized use of property Nov. 21, 2015, in China.

• Mitchel B. MacArthur, 26, of Fairfield, unlawful possession of hydrocodone Oct. 6, 2015, in Waterville.

• Ervin W. Morrison III, 23, of Vassalboro, theft by deception involving more than $1,000 of tree-length wood Aug. 1, 2011, in West Gardiner.

• Jeffrey Daniel Paquette, 33, of Waterville, domestic violence assault, obstructing report of crime or injury and violating condition of release Feb. 24, 2016, in Winslow.

• Crystal L. Pooler, 26, of Oakland, theft by deception Nov. 23, 2015, in Waterville and theft by unauthorized taking July 13, 2015, in Augusta.

• Edward B. Robinson, 35, of Gardiner, three counts each of burglary and theft by unauthorized taking, four counts of violating condition of release, and one count each of receiving stolen property, operating after revocation, theft by deception and criminal mischief Dec. 27, 2015-Feb. 15, 2016, in Augusta, Chelsea, Gardiner and Randolph.

• Joshua L. Tilley, 33, of Litchfield, domestic violence assault and domestic violence criminal threatening Feb. 18, 2016, in Litchfield.

• John D. Trytek, 37, of Litchfield, criminal operating under the influence and endangering the welfare of a child Jan. 13, 2016, in Monmouth.

• Jessie L. Wallace, 35, of Bangor, unlawful furnishing of heroin Dec. 9, 2015, in Augusta.

• Ronald Brandon Williams, 23, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine, aggravated trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to commit aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs and criminal forfeiture of $31,970, all Jan. 15-28, 2016, in Waterville.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

The 25-year-old Aroostook County man who was charged with shooting two people with a shotgun in Duxbury, Massachusetts, had not taken his medication to treat schizophrenia in over two weeks, and had a prior temporary arrest warrant issued in Maine for an incident with his parents that also involved a shotgun.

Massachusetts officials said Lucas McPherson of Mapleton injured two people and damaged a vehicle belonging to a third person early Sunday. A judge in Plymouth District Court on Monday ordered that McPherson undergo a psychological evaluation to determine if he is competent to face 15 charges in the random crime spree, and that he be held without bail at Bridgewater State Hospital. He is due back in court May 13 for a competency hearing.

McPherson is alleged to have shot two people in Duxbury from his vehicle with a 20-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot.

The first victim, a 33-year-old man from Marshfield, was struck by a shotgun blast about 1:15 a.m. Sunday as he drove near Duxbury Town Hall, according to multiple police reports filed in Massachusetts court in support of the charges. The shot came from a passing motorist and passed through his car door. The victim drove himself to a nearby fire station when he realized he had been shot.

Police were already notified and on the lookout for McPherson when he allegedly shot another person. This time, the victim was standing outside his home walking his dog.

Police arrived shortly after the second man was shot, and an officer heard him cry out: “What happened? What happened? I think I got shot!” according to a police report.

As officers talked with the victim, McPherson tried to flee in his car, but police confronted him. McPherson got out of the vehicle and approached an officer with a hunting knife, but he was Tasered twice and taken into custody.

McPherson has a criminal record in Maine, according to the State Bureau of Identification. In 2012, he was charged with operating under the influence in Presque Isle and served 48 hours in jail and paid a $500 fine.

In the Duxbury case, he is charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; three counts of attempted murder; two counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle; two counts of assault and battery on a police officer; and one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and carrying a firearm without a license.

Once in custody, McPherson called his father, David McPherson, who told police that his son is schizophrenic and had been off his medication for more than two weeks. He said his son had left Maine in an attempt to drive across the country.

McPherson’s parents had been trying to get him to return to Maine so he could resume treatment for his mental illness, according to the police reports.

During the booking and incarceration process, McPherson also attacked a police officer, punching him in the face.

McPherson broke the officer’s glasses, but the officer has returned to work and was not seriously injured.

Both shooting victims were treated for non life-threatening injuries at a hospital in Plymouth.

Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:

mbyrne@pressherald.com

A Waterville man who is accused of breaking into the home of a 73-year-old neighbor and raping her in February was indicted last week by a Kennebec County grand jury.

Mark D. Halle, 32, was indicted on two counts of gross sexual assault and one count each of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and terrorizing with a dangerous weapon Feb. 7 in Waterville.

Halle’s next scheduled court appearance is May 3.

Halle was arrested Feb. 8 by Waterville police and charged with breaking into the neighbor’s home and assaulting her at gunpoint. He has been held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail in Kennebec County jail since his arrest.

He allegedly broke into the woman’s home by removing her air conditioning unit from a window early in the morning of Feb. 7. She heard a thump and came to find a stranger in her house wearing a hoodie and pointing a gun at her, police said.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said in the wake of the attack that it is a good argument for residents to have guns to protect themselves.

Police said after Halle was arrested that they’d tracked footprints in the snow to a set of keys and they found a pellet gun they believed was used in the attack.

Halle had been staying with his sister, who lived on Victoria Drive near the victim for about six months.

Brunswick police say the Curtis Memorial Library was vandalized during the night Sunday or early Monday morning.

Two windows were broken on the west side of the building, by the Young Adult reading area, according to the library’s Facebook page.

Library officials say it is the second time in three weeks that the library has been vandalized. On April 8, vandals destroyed another window in the same first-floor area of the library.

Library officials said on Facebook that they are “disheartened” by the destruction. “Vandalism to the library hurts the entire community.”

Anyone with information about the vandals should contact Brunswick police at 725-5521.

AUGUSTA — A city man will spend two years behind bars for trafficking after pleading guilty Tuesday to two charges of unlawful trafficking in drugs as well as several other offenses.

The sentence was imposed after Joshua P. Arbour, 35, who was represented by attorney Stephen Bourget, submitted his plea at the Capital Judicial Center. Justice Donald Marden also imposed more than $1,235 in fines and fees along with the sentence recommended jointly by the defense and the prosecution.

The prosecutors, Assistant Attorney General Katie Sibley and Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair, told Justice Donald Marden they had reached an agreement to resolve all the pending charges.

Arbour also admitted to a charge of criminal forfeiture of $3,428 in cash seized on March 9 when police conducted a search warrant at his house on Old Belgrade Road.

He was arrested then along with Kimberly Hopkins, 30. Charges against Hopkins remain pending, and her case is set for a hearing in June, also at the Capital Judicial Center.

Sibley said Arbour had a lengthy criminal record, but that these were his first drug convictions.

“His criminal history shows a very poor performance on probation,” she said, adding that the two-year term reflected his “quick acceptance of responsibility” for his actions, and that this would be his longest stint in jail. Sibley said Arbour served 20 months in prison after his probation was revoked in 2013.

Bourget said the sentence would allow Arbour to enter a drug rehabilitation program at the prison.

Sibley said that as part of an investigation by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, a confidential informant bought cocaine from Arbour on Sept. 23, 2015, and Leclair said a confidential informant purchased heroin from Arbour on March 2, 2016.

Later, when officers searched Arbour’s home, they found heroin, crack cocaine and a loaded syringe, as well as cash.

Arbour also pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of operating Jan. 8, 2016, while his license was suspended or revoked; unlawful possession of heroin Feb. 3, 2106; unlawful possession of heroin and unlawful possession of cocaine base March 2, 2016; and violating condition of release and criminal forfeiture March 9, 2016. Two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, from March 9, 2016, were dismissed.

Marden told Arbour he approved the agreement because of the factors cited by the attorneys. “I am not a big fan of moderate sentences where there was a purchase of drugs involved,” Marden said.

Several other people were sentenced Tuesday in separate hearings at the Capital Judicial Center:

• Jacob E. Burton, 37, of Oakland, domestic violence assault Jan, 20, 2016, in Oakland; 364-day jail sentence, all but nine days suspended, one year of probation.

• Damion E. Hanson 21, of Winthrop, criminal mischief Aug. 31, 2014, in Winthrop; $200 fine. Domestic violence reckless conduct, same date and place; dismissed. Assault Aug. 30, 2014, in Winthrop; 10-day alternative sentencing program.

• Jon C. Kelley, 29, of Vassalboro, domestic violence assault Jan. 31, 2016, in Vassalboro; 364-day jail sentence, all suspended, two years of probation.

• James A. Lee, 33, of South China, unlawful possession of scheduled drug and violating condition of release March 18, 2016, in Chelsea; 48-hour jail sentence, $400 fine.

• Jaimie A. Manganella, 28, of Windsor, operating after habitual offender revocation, unlawful possession of heroin and violating conditions of release, and use of drug paraphernalia Nov. 14, 2015, in Gardiner; 364-day jail sentence, all suspended, one year of probation, $1,700 in fines.

• Heather L. Poulin, 29, of Winslow, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and violating condition of release Dec. 28, 2015, in Waterville, and two counts of theft by deception March 19-21, 2014, in Oakland; two-year jail sentence, all but 14 days suspended, two years of probation, $200 fine, restitution up to $1,123.

• Dylan G. Veilleux, 23, of Augusta, aggravated criminal mischief and assault Oct. 14, 2013, in Oakland, and theft by deception June 30, 2014, in Waterville; two-year jail sentence, all but 10 days suspended, two years of probation.

• Scott A. Walters Sr., 43, of Oakland, operating under the influence March 10, 2016, in Oakland; two-year jail sentence, all but 90 days suspended, two years of probation, $1,000 fine, six-year license suspension. Operating while license suspended or revoked, same day and time; dismissed.

• Terrance I. Wigglesworth, 23, of Gardiner, domestic violence assault March 20, 2016, in Gardiner; 180-day jail sentence, all but 14 days suspended, two years of probation.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

A 27-year-old Rockland woman is facing drug and child endangerment charges after she passed out while apparently high on prescription medication, allowing her 3-year-old son to wander away from her apartment.

A passer-by found the boy playing in a drainage culvert on Saturday, according to a statement by police.

The boy told the passer-by that he did not know where he lived, but said that he had been watching “Scooby Doo” at home before he left the apartment. The adult searched a few nearby apartment complexes until finding one unit with a door open and “Scooby Doo” playing on the television inside.

When police arrived at the apartment, no one responded to knocks on the door, so police entered the home to find Mandy Dennison, 27, sleeping on a mattress in the living room. After several attempts to wake Dennison, she told police she did not know where her son was. She appeared to be under the influence of drugs, police said.

Police found in her possession the prescription drug clonazepam, which is used to treat seizure and panic disorders, and has the effect of a powerful sedative.

She was arrested and booked at the Knox County Jail, and the boy’s grandmother picked him up.

The following evening, police performing a bail check found her to be in possession of a different pharmaceutical for which she also did not have a prescription.

She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of unlawful possession of drugs and violating conditions of her release.

An Augusta man pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of possessing and intending to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

Shawn Figoli, 44, was in U.S. District Court on Thursday in Portland. His case had been scheduled for the May trial list there.

The plea to the charge was accepted by Judge Jon Levy, and a sentencing hearing will be set later.

Figoli is represented by attorney Molly Butler Bailey.

Figoli was arrested May 17, 2015, at the Kennebunk rest area on Interstate 95. A Maine State Police trooper, investigating a report that a vehicle had been operating erratically, found Figoli alone in the parked pickup.

The trooper seized 18 packages contained in a fanny-style bag, and a laboratory examination of two found they contained heroin and the opioid medication fentanyl, according to court documents filed by the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Joyce.

Figoli remains in custody.

Conviction on the charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

AUGUSTA — A judge acquitted a 21-year-old city man of a charge of operating under the influence in a one-day jury trial Thursday at the Capital Judicial Center.

After Jose J. Tapia-Smith was cleared of the drunken driving charge, he then pleaded guilty to a charge of operating beyond license restriction and was fined $500. The offense was dated April 8, 2015, in Augusta.

“The goal was to avoid the conviction on the OUI charge and take responsibility for the second count,” said Tapia-Smith’s attorney, Darrick Banda.

The charge of operating under the influence never reached the jury, and the second count was being tried by the judge alone.

The prosecutor was Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said in an emailed response to an inquiry that judges are “offering different interpretations of the OUI statute that makes it difficult to determine what evidence will be required to get a (blood-alcohol content) test result admitted.

“For some judges only the officer who administered the test is necessary. For other judges, an expert witness, plus the site coordinator, plus the person who poured the liquid into the machine are needed,” she wrote. “This is causing a great additional expense to law enforcement. Once a test result is not admitted it is very difficult to proceed.”

Maloney said the Legislature should re-examine the OUI statute to clarify the requirements.

A Florida man has been charged with murder in the gruesome slaying of a Maine woman whose body was found in the woods off Highway 19 in Pasco County, Florida, this month.

Police said Timothy Frederick Johnson, 25, of New Port Richey, killed Judith Therianos while the two were having sex and then continued to have sex with her dead body. Therianos, 52, of Alfred, had been in Florida for about a month visiting friends before she disappeared. Her body was found on April 7, posed in a suggestive position. It was badly decomposed but identifiable through fingerprints.

The graphic details of her killing were laid out in an arrest affidavit released by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on Friday– the same day they charged Johnson.

“This is a pretty sick individual that would perform these acts on a deceased person,” Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference Friday afternoon.

Richard Bowie, director of operations for the Down East Emergency Medicine Institute, a volunteer search-and-rescue group based in Orono that helped search for Therianos’ body, has been asked by her family to act as a spokesman.

Bowie said Friday’s news was extremely difficult for the family, especially her three children and her sister, Jennifer Scammon.

‘THE WRONG GUY’

“She was a free spirit. Very trusting,” Bowie said. “She just met the wrong guy at the wrong time. It’s terrible.”

Based on their investigation, Florida police believe Johnson and Therianos met on the evening of March 13 when they were seen buying alcohol together at a store in New Port Richey, a coastal town northwest of Tampa.

According to the arrest affidavit, Johnson and Therianos began having consensual sex in a wooded lot off Highway 19. At some point, Therianos asked him to stop but he didn’t. Instead, he choked her until she passed out and then continued having sex with her. After he finished, he pulled her shirt over her head and “bashed her brains in,” the affidavit said.

Johnson then took Therianos’ debit card and went to a nearby Waffle House to eat. After that, he stopped at a liquor store, bought a four-pack of beer with her debit card and returned to where Therianos’ dead body lay and had sex with her again, police said.

Johnson left and returned a third time, this time with rubbing alcohol, which he poured on her to remove any evidence.

On March 23, 10 days after the killing, Johnson was arrested on unrelated charges of violating probation. While in jail, he told two inmates that he killed Therianos.

When Johnson made the disclosure to his fellow inmates, Therianos’ body had not yet been found. Her remains were discovered on April 7 by a woman who was out looking for bottles and cans. Johnson told the inmates she was his victim and threatened to kill one of the inmates if he told anyone, the affidavit says.

Johnson remains at the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center. When police interviewed him about Therianos’ death, he initially denied knowing her. He then admitted to drinking with her and having consensual sex, police said.

Sheriff Nocco said that, because of the gruesome and cold-blooded nature of Therianos’ killing, police are looking into whether Johnson may have been involved in other crimes. He was arrested last year for battery, according to records published in a local newspaper, but there were no other details.

Therianos grew up in Maine and graduated from Massabesic High School in Waterboro in 1981.

FAMILY STATEMENT

In February, she drove with a friend, Glenda Cook, from Maine to Florida. The two planned to visit with and care for an ailing friend. When Cook returned home, Therianos stayed behind to visit other friends in the area and told family members she would be home by Easter.

Friends and family had been concerned about Therianos since early March. They said she had been spending time with an older man named Charlie before her disappearance. Friends also had seen her with a black eye, although she said it was from a fall. Sheriff Nocco said the man identified as Charlie was not involved in her death.

Family members declined to speak Friday but provided a statement.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the search, investigation, and subsequent arrest in the case of Judi Therianos,” it said. “We also want to express our heartfelt thanks to DEEMI and to all of the volunteers that assisted in the search from passing out fliers, to sharing the Find Judi Facebook page, to sending your thoughts and prayers.

“While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, we are grateful to have Justice for Judi. She will remain forever in our hearts.”

A man from Maine was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly molested two children at a petting zoo in Alabama.

In a news release posted on its Facebook page Sunday, the Florence, Alabama, Police Department said it arrested Daryl V. Raymond Jr., 48, of Stockholm, Maine, on Saturday morning. Stockholm is a town in Aroostook County.

Raymond allegedly abused two children at a traveling petting zoo in Florence and was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 – a Class B felony.

Florence police were made aware of the incident during an investigation into an unrelated murder, the news release said.

Raymond, who is an employee of Jungle Safari, is being held the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

The operator of the petting zoo informed Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler that he will be moving the petting zoo out of Florence and to another location.

AUGUSTA — A former co-director of a youth ministry program in Canaan accused of sexually abusing a child was in court Monday, the same day an affidavit released for the first time indicated multiple allegations of abuse.

Lucas Savage, 27, of Clinton appeared at the Capital Judicial Center accompanied by the lawyer of the day, Andrew Dawson, rather than Savage’s attorney, Pamela Ames.

Savage told Judge Eric Walker that he understood the charge of unlawful sexual contact, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

According to the complaint, the offense occurred Sept. 1, 2014-Oct. 31, 2014, in Clinton on a minor younger than 12. The alleged victim was identified in court only by initials.

The judge said he would not be asking for Savage to enter a plea on the charge.

Savage is free on $1,000 cash bail with a prohibition against contact with children under age 16. However, that bail was amended Monday to allow Savage to have supervised contact with his newborn child once that baby is born.

According to an affidavit filed in court by Maine State Police Detective Benjamin Sweeney, the alleged victim, now 11, told her mother that Savage “had put his hand down (her) pants” and left it there when she spent the night at his home. She also said Savage’s wife was there, but asleep. The mother said the girl told her she and Savage exchanged “secret kisses.”

She also said Savage had touched her inappropriately “about 30 times,” the affidavit says.

The girl’s mother also said her daughter and Savage exchanged messages two or three times a day on Facebook and via text.

The affidavit also says that when Sweeney questioned Savage on March 17, 2016, he said the alleged victim had lied in the past and requested a lawyer before answering questions about the allegations.

Savage told police at the time that multiple children have slept overnight at his home.

Savage, who was also a youth sports coach, was arrested in March on the charge.

He was co-director of Youth Haven Ministry on Easy Street in Canaan.

Sweeney’s affidavit also says the mother of another girl, now 12, said her daughter told her Savage makes her sit on his lap and kiss him before he lets her out of his car. The mother said she went to Savage’s home one day and discovered him and her daughter alone. Savage’s wife and son were not present.

There are no charges pending with regard to those accusations.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

AUGUSTA — A judge set $10,000 bail on Monday for a city man facing charges of eluding an officer and operating under the influence.

Jose Jesus Tapia-Smith, 21, is the same man acquitted Thursday of a drunken driving charge by the same judge, Eric Walker.

The new charges, which include driving to endanger, operating while license suspended or revoked and refusal to sign a uniform summons, result from a high speed chase through the city that occurred around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

Tapia-Smith was advised of the charges and potential consequences at his initial hearing at the Capital Judicial Center. He was at the Kennebec County jail with Dennis Jones, who was serving as the lawyer of the day, and appeared in front of Walker via video link.

Tapia-Smith did not enter pleas to the charges because the charge of eluding an officer is a felony and would have to go to a grand jury.

Tapia-Smith’s next court hearing was set for July 5.

Assistant District Attorney Tracy DeVol asked for the $10,000 bail, and Jones agreed to waive argument about it until an attorney is appointed to represent Tapia-Smith on the charges.

Three people in the courtroom reacted so loudly to the proposed bail amount that Walker had to ask the prosecutor to repeat it.

Outside the courtroom, one of them, Tapia-Smith’s mother, Rebecca Smith, was physically shaking.

“He was not drunk that night,” she said. “He got scared. He had one drink. He just got scared.”

Tapia-Smith, wearing a one-piece orange jail jumpsuit, kept his hands clasped in front of him and exhibited little reaction to the bail amount.

The judge also set conditions of release that prohibit Tapia-Smith from possessing alcohol and illegal drugs and place him on a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

According to an affidavit by Augusta Police Officer Nicholas Sterling, he saw Tapia-Smith’s red Avenger parked at Cumberland Farms on Mount Vernon Avenue at 12:20 a.m. Saturday. Sterling said he pulled into the parking lot because he knew Tapia-Smith’s license was suspended.

He said Tapia-Smith exited the store and went back inside after seeing the patrol vehicle.

Sterling moved the cruiser behind a nearby building and said Tapia-Smith drove by within five minutes without the headlights on and turned onto Laurel Street.

Sterling said he activated his lights and siren, but the Avenger kept going.

At one point during the chase, the vehicle was traveling north on Civic Center Drive and Mount Vernon Avenue at speeds over 100 miles per hour “with the headlights off still.”

That was the start of an 11-mile chase which ended near the rotary on Old Belgrade Road. Sterling said he smelled alcohol on Tapia-Smith.

A passenger indicated he and Tapia-Smith had been at a Water Street nightclub.

Sterling said Tapia-Smith refused to take an Intoxylizer test and exhibited “slurred speech, unsteady walking and the distinct odor of intoxicating beverages.”

Rebecca Smith said her son would be requesting that attorney Darrick Banda represent him.

Banda had represented Tapia-Smith at his jury trial Thursday at the Capital Judicial Center.

After Walker acquitted Tapia-Smith of a drunken driving charge from April 8, 2015, Tapia-Smith then pleaded guilty to a charge of operating beyond license restriction and was fined $500. The offense also was dated April 8, 2015, in Augusta.

“The goal was to avoid the conviction on the OUI charge and take responsibility for the second count,” Banda said at the time.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

A Windham man indicted on charges of murder and manslaughter for fatally shooting his wife in their Windham home pleaded not guilty to both counts on Tuesday during a brief hearing in the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland.

Noah Gaston, 33, has said since the day of the shooting on Jan. 14 that he mistakenly thought his wife was an intruder when he shot her inside their home at 37 Brookhaven Drive in Windham.

Gaston’s wife, 34-year-old Alicia Gaston, was walking up the stairs of their home around 6 a.m. when Gaston fired a single shot into her torso from a 12-gauge shotgun while standing at the top of the stairwell. The couple’s three childen – ages 9, 8 and 2 – were in their upstairs bedrooms at the time.

Maine State Police had initially charged Gaston only with knowing and intentional murder. After prosecutors presented their case to a Cumberland County grand jury in March, the grand jury added the manslaughter charge when it indicted Gaston.

Justice Michaela Murphy explained to Gaston during the court hearing that murder is punishable by a minimum of 25 years in prison and up to life in prison. Manslaughter is typically punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and Gaston would face a minimum of four years in prison on that charge if he was convicted because the offense involved a firearm, the judge said.

Gaston spoke only three times during the hearing, to acknowledge that he understood the charges against him and to enter his not guilty pleas.

The judge also used the hearing to confirm the case schedule with Gaston’s attorneys, Luke Rioux and Temma Donahue, and a prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Megan Elam, leading up to a tentatively scheduled trial for March of 2017. Murphy said she would schedule a judicial settlement conference for November for the lawyers to discuss before a different judge whether they can resolve the case without a trial.

Murphy has already made some significant rulings on evidence in the case, finding the case cleared the legal hurdle required to bring a murder charge but also rejecting a claim by police that Gaston’s 8-year-old daughter heard her parents arguing before the shooting.

The judge has ordered Gaston to remain held without bail while the case is pending, but she has ruled that bail is an option in the case, even though bail is not a consideration in many Maine murder cases. She ordered Gaston to have no contact with his late wife’s family and no contact with his children, who are being cared for by his in-laws. Murphy left open the possibility of amending her order regarding contact with the children while Gaston is held at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, to align her order with any directive by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

A representative from the Department of Health and Human Services attended Tuesday’s hearing as did one member of Alicia Gaston’s family. No one attended the hearing in support of Gaston.

Murphy told the attorneys on Tuesday that she would leave open the option for the state to request a mental evaluation of Gaston. Elam said after the hearing that she has not filed a motion to make such a request and would not comment on whether she would.

A New York man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to serve more than eight years in federal prison for smuggling opioid drugs – oxycodone and oxymorphone – from New York to be distributed in southern Maine.

Damien Corbett, 40, of New Rochelle, New York, was found guilty last Dec. 17 after a two-day jury trial of a charge of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone.

Judge George Singal sentenced Corbett to serve 100 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Corbett to forfeit $4,383 in cash, a designer Breitling watch and a 2008 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG car.

Corbett had been smuggling drugs from at least June 2013 to December 2014 to a couple in North Berwick to distribute in southern Maine, according to court records.

Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration executed a warrant on Dec. 16, 2014, at the couple’s home and seized more than 500 oxycodone pills and more than 350 Opana pills, according to a prosecution document filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Perry. Opana is oxymorphone, an opioid.

The boyfriend and girlfriend both identified Corbett as their supplier and agreed with investigators’ plans to stage a meeting with Corbett in Kittery on Dec. 19, 2014, where police arrested him and seized about $2,500 in drug proceeds, Perry wrote in the document.

Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan

A Sagadahoc County man who illegally collected more than $160,000 of his mother’s Social Security benefits after she died was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to serve six months in federal prison and to repay the money.

Robert Caton, 72, of Arrowsic also was sentenced by Judge Nancy Torresen to three years of supervised release to be served after completion of his prison term.

After Caton’s father, George Chamberlain, died in 1988, his mother, Helen Chamberlain, legally collected a survivor’s benefit from her husband’s account. But after her death in 2000, Caton illegally took the payments for himself, according to a prosecution document filed with the court.

“What the Social Security Administration had no record of was that Helen died in September 2000. As a result, the benefits from George’s account were mistakenly paid by SSA to Helen for 14 years following her death via direct deposit to Helen’s Bank of America checking account,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley wrote in the prosecution document.

In total, the SSA deposited $162,786 in the checking account, held jointly with Caton. Caton used all but about $15,000 of that money on personal expenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Caton also failed to disclose the overpayments during his own divorce proceedings and never made his former wife aware that he was receiving his mother’s benefits, Conley wrote.

Caton had pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud on Jan. 6.

Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: scottddolan

The following are cases closed Feb. 22 to March 6, 2016, in Skowhegan District Court and Somerset County Superior Court.

Kristian M. Addison, 21, of Fairfield, two counts unlawful possession of scheduled drugs Oct. 21, 2015, and Nov. 4, 2015, both in Fairfield; dismissed.

David Allen, 48, of Skowhegan, abuse or property while hunting Oct. 31, 2015, in Skowhegan; $100 fine. Placing bait to entice deer Oct. 31, 2015, in Skowhegan; dismissed.

Kenneth R. Austin, 33, of Norridgewock, burglary of a motor vehicle, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and criminal mischief, all Aug. 5, 2015, in Skowhegan; five-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but two years suspended, two years of probation, $1,500 restitution. Burglary of a motor vehicle, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and criminal mischief, all Aug. 1, 2015, in Noridgewock; Department of Corrections 18 months, all but six months suspended. Burglary of a motor vehicle and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer both June 10, 2015, in Norridgewock; six-month jail sentence. Burglary of a motor vehicle, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and criminal mischief, all July 18, 2015, in Norridgewock; five-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but six months suspended, two years of probation. Burglary of a motor vehicle and theft by unauthorized taking of transfer, both Aug. 5, 2015, in Norridgewock; six-month jail sentence. Burglary of a motor vehicle and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, both April 28, 2015, in Norridgewock; six-month jail sentence. Violating condition of release Nov. 21, 2015, in Norridgewock; six-month jail sentence. Two counts burglary of a motor vehicle, two counts theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, and two counts violating condition of release, all Nov. 11, 2015, in Norridgewock; 18-month Department of Corrections sentence, all but nine months suspended. Theft by unauthorized taking or transfer April 13, 2015, in Skowhegan; six-month jail sentence. Assault Nov. 21, 2015, in Norridgewock; dismissed.

Michael B. Ballard, 62, of Pittsfield, criminal threatening Dec. 31, 2015, in Pittsfield; $500 fine.

Lawrence J. Church Jr., 28, of Pittsfield, burglary April 1, 2013, in Fairfield; six-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but 30 months suspended, three years of probation, $7,689.80 restitution.

Joseph Ryan Cox, 30, of Strong, hindering apprehension of prosecution Jan. 15, 2016, in Mercer; 25-day jail sentence. Hindering apprehension or prosecution Jan. 15, 2016, in Mercer; dismissed.

Phillip W. Dickey, 74, of North Anson, two counts of gross sexual assault, both Jan. 1, 2008, in North Anson; dismissed. Unlawful sexual contact, three counts, Jan. 1, 2008, Jan. 1, 2008 and Jan. 1, 2014, all in North Anson; 10-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but four years suspended, 12-year probation. Three counts of unlawful sexual contact, all Jan. 1, 2008, in North Anson; 10-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but four years suspended, 12 years of probation.

Nathaniel H. Dupler, 28, of Hollis, New Hampshire, operating under the influence and operating vehicle without a license, both March 1, 2015, in Solon; $600 fine, four-day Department of Corrections sentence, 150-day license suspension.

Dennis A. Gaudet, 42, of Plymouth, violating condition of release Feb. 20, 2016, in Palmyra; 48-hour jail sentence.

Cody A. Girouard, 22, of Poland, violating snowmobile noise levels limits Jan. 21, 2016, in Parlin Pond Township; $100 fine.

Victoria L. Gurney, 26, of Solon, assault Aug. 13, 2014, in Skowhegan; 364-day all-suspended jail sentence, one year of administrative release.

Timothy Haiss, 40, of Canaan, endangering the welfare of a child Dec. 27, 2014, in Skowhegan; dismissed.

Wade R. Hoover, 38, of Augusta, gross sexual assault Jan. 4, 2012, in The Forks; 25-year Department of Corrections sentence.

Jacob A. Kerby, 23, of Benton, robbery and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, both Sept. 30, 2015, in Fairfield; seven-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but two years suspended, three years of probation, $4,143.12 restitution, $873.24 restitution. Theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and burglary of a motor vehicle, both Oct. 5, 2015, in Shawmut; one-year Department of Corrections sentence, all but six months in Somerset County Jail suspended, $1,131.88 restitution. Theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and burglary of a motor vehicle both Sept. 28, 2015, in Shawmut; one-year Department of Correction sentence, all but six months in Somerset County Jail suspended, $60 restitution.

Jessica E. McGowan, 32, of Skowhegan, operating while license suspended or revoked, Sept. 2, 2015, in Skowhegan; $500 fine.

Ronald D. Pinkham III, 20, of North Anson, motor vehicle speeding more than 30 mph over speed limit Nov. 22, 2015, in Anson; dismissed.

Edward Allen Sincyr, 44, of Madison, domestic violence criminal threatening March 3, 2016, in Madison; 10-day jail sentence.

Basil J. Stratton, 32, of Fairfield, hunting from stand of blind overlooking deer bait Nov. 7, 2015, in Fairfield; $200 fine.

Michael Matthew Thomas, 21, of Fairfield, theft by receiving stolen property Aug. 20, 2015, in Fairfield; 180-day jail sentence all suspended, one-year administrative release, $1,736 restitution.

Robert White, 50, of China, operating under the influence July 1, 2015, in Madison; $700 fine, seven-day jail sentence, three-year license suspension.

A Whitefield man previously convicted of federal drug conspiracy now faces a firearms charge.

Peter Poland, 43, is back behind bars, charged with being a felon in possession of three guns.

On Monday he pleaded not guilty to the charge, and U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. ordered Poland held without bail pending a hearing May 11 in Bangor.

Poland was indicted on the charge April 27.

He is accused of having a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, a .30-caliber Springfield Armory rifle and a 1903 Springfield Armory Mark 1 rifle on March 7, 2016.

Poland was convicted on Aug. 31, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Maine of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.

He was sentenced to 40 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and he was released from federal prison on May 16, 2015. He had been held previously on that charge.

According to a report prepared by prosecutors in that case, Poland and other people got oxycodone and other drugs outside Maine and distributed them in Kennebec and Cumberland counties.

On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Joyce asked that Poland be kept behind bars, saying in the written motion that the charge is a felony involving a firearm and that there is a “serious risk defendant will flee” and a “serious risk (of) obstruction of justice,” and for community safety.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

A motion to revoke the supervised release from the previous conviction is pending.

Poland has been represented by attorney Ronald Bourget.

In late November 2015, Poland escaped serious injury in a fatal accident in Bernards Township, New Jersey.

On March 9, 2016, Poland was arrested by a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy on charges of failing to stop for an officer, operating under the influence and terrorizing after being stopped on Mills Road in Whitefield.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

A former art teacher at Portland High School pleaded guilty Wednesday to a child pornography charge and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Gerald White, 44, of Freeport was arrested at the school in December and charged with possessing sexually explicit material of someone under the age of 12, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

White appeared before Justice Joyce Wheeler in the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland and waived his right to have the case against him presented to a grand jury.

Wheeler sentenced White to five years, with all but 90 days of that sentence suspended. She also sentenced him to serve six years of probation after his release.

The judge allowed White to remain free on bail until May 12, when he must report to the Cumberland County Jail. The plea deal was reached by agreement by White’s attorney, James Martemucci, and Assistant District Attorney Hannah May.

White was hired in December 2010 as an education technician and became an art teacher prior to the 2013 school year. His contract as a teacher expires in June, but White has been suspended from his post by an agreement with the school since his arrest, Martemucci said.

Acting on a tip, police investigated White and seized his home computer. An initial examination “showed dozens of images of child porn,” according to a statement in December from Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Stephen McCausland, but he said police do not believe any of the images found on White’s computer are victims from Maine.

May said in court that the Maine State Police Computer Crime Lab began investigating White last November after tracing pornographic images of children posted on the Internet to White’s Freeport home.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the home on Dec. 16 while he was not there and seized electronic devices on which they later discovered pornographic images and videos of children, May said.

White was an adviser to the school’s outing club as recently as 2014 and is a registered Maine Guide.

Wheeler also ordered White to register as a sex offender for the next 25 years, have no sexually explicit material and not possess Internet-capable devices. She also ordered him as a condition of probation to have no direct or indirect contact with children under 18 other than incidental contact in public, undergo a sexual abuse evaluation and submit to any necessary counseling.

White declined to comment to a reporter as he left the courtroom after sentencing.

AUGUSTA — A former Augusta man was placed on a two-year deferred disposition Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful sexual contact.

Michael Hawkins, 30, of Harpswell, had been indicted in February 2014 on three counts of gross sexual assault, all naming the same 12-year-old girl as the victim, and all dated between July 1 and July 24, 2012.

Those charges were dismissed Wednesday in exchange for the plea, which took place at the Capital Judicial Center.

Under the terms of the deferral, Hawkins must undergo sex offender counseling and treatment to the satisfaction of a probation officer and pay a $10 monthly supervision fee.

If he successfully complies with those terms and avoids further criminal charges, he will be permitted to withdraw the guilty plea and the charge will be dismissed at a court hearing set for May 8, 2018.

In connection with the same case, Hawkins also pleaded no contest to charges of assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He was sentenced to two consecutive 364-day suspended sentences and one year of probation each. He also was fined $300.

Conditions of probation prohibit him from contact with the victim and with children under 16.

Hawkins was represented by attorney Leonard Sharon, and the prosecutor was Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews.

AUGUSTA — A Waterville man accused of breaking into the home of a 73-year-old neighbor and raping her at gunpoint pleaded not guilty Thursday to six charges in Kennebec County Superior Court.

Mark Halle, 32, is charged with two counts of gross sexual assault, burglary, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and terrorizing with a dangerous weapon.

During the arraignment at the Capital Judicial Center, Halle told a judge that he understood his rights and the charges against him. He then entered not guilty pleas to the six charges.

The woman he is charged with attacking was in the courtroom Thursday and declined to comment after the hearing.

At a hearing in February, the woman said she was pleased that Halle’s bail had been set at $500,000 and that she was grateful for the support of her family, friends and the community. Halle’s bail conditions were not changed Thursday.

He was arrested in February after the woman reported to police that she had been attacked in her West River Road home in Waterville.

Halle allegedly broke into the home around 5 a.m., awakening the woman. When she went to investigate the noise, she said, he confronted her with what she believed was a handgun, forced her into the bedroom and put a pillow case over her head and assaulted her. Police said he also beat her with the gun. Police later found a pellet gun near the house, which they believe was used in the attack.

Halle is being represented by attorney Pamela Ames and is next scheduled to appear in court June 1.

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm