Apr 22 2025

Veazie Police Charge Three with Burglary

VEAZIE, Maine — Two men and a woman are facing felony burglary charges in connection with the burglary of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and electronics from a home in the Silver Ridge neighborhood, Veazie Police Chief Mark Leonard said Thursday afternoon.

Charged with Class B felony burglary were: Timothy Starr, 25, whom police described as a local transient; Meghan Coulombe, 22, whose last known address was in Searsport; and Tyler Baker, 20, of Hampden, Leonard said. He said Coulombe also was charged with receiving stolen property.

All three are scheduled to make initial court appearances on June 18 at the Penobscot Judicial Center.

The three are accused of taking an estimated $15,000 worth of jewelry and a computer and video game system valued at about $1,000 during the burglary, which occurred on May 5, Leonard said.

Leonard said the three also are suspects in other open burglary cases and that additional charges might be filed.

On Thursday, Leonard attributed the charges to good police work on the part of his officers.

Leonard said that he and Officer Jacob Ferland began an investigation into the Silver Ridge burglary when it was reported but weren’t immediately able to identify a suspect or suspects.

Investigators, however, got a break in the case on May 25, when Officer Dain Bryant spotted a suspicious vehicle in a different subdivision, stopped it and identified the driver and passenger, Starr and Coulombe.

Veazie police then began looking into possible links between the two and the May 5 break-in.

“On the 29th of May, [Officer Ferland and Sgt. Keith Emery] interviewed those people and they ultimately confessed to the Silver Ridge burglary,” Leonard said.

Starr and Coulombe allegedly admitted they were planning another burglary on May 25 but got cold feet after their encounter with Bryant.

“They implicated a third person [Baker] and also admitted to numerous thefts at Walmart and Best Buy,” Leonard said, adding, “They said all of this [activity] was done to support a drug habit.”

Leonard said that some of the jewelry stolen during the Silver Ridge break-in has been recovered but that police believe the rest of the items have been sold at local pawn shops.

He asked that local pawn shop owners and employees who may have done business with the trio call Emery at the Veazie Police Department at 947-2358.

Bangor Daily News link

Apr 22 2025

Veazie Police Solve Multiple Burglaries

VEAZIE, Maine — Two Hancock County men have been charged in connection with a series of burglaries that took place between late January and early February in a Veazie neighborhood.

Veazie Police Chief Mark Leonard said last week that two separate burglaries occurred on Jan. 23 on Jackson Drive and Buck Hill. One of those homes was burglarized a second time on Feb. 3. The suspects forced entry each time and left with checkbooks and electronics, according to Leonard.

“That’s a very nice area in there, and a lot of people in the neighborhood were very nervous,” Leonard said.

The owner of the checks informed police when a check that the owner didn’t write cleared after being used to make a purchase at the Circle K convenience store on Main Street in Bangor.

Police reviewed surveillance tapes, which showed a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee, and used it to compile a list of suspects.

Later, staff at the Finish Line in the Bangor Mall contacted police to notify them that Matthew Blethen, 19, of Ellsworth attempted to purchase about $500 in merchandise with a check that didn’t have his name.

“We were able to find Mr. Blethen and conducted a couple interviews with him,” Leonard said. Blethen confessed and identified another suspect, Gerald Williams, 18, of Bucksport, who also confessed after questioning.

Police filed charges on Feb. 28.

“They went through dresser drawers and medicine cabinets,” Leonard said. “They said they were looking for money. I’d question if that’s what they were really looking for.”

Leonard said the two men informed him that they thought they were still in Bangor when searching for homes that looked empty to break into.

Blethen faces three counts of burglary, two counts of forgery and two counts of negotiating a worthless instrument. Williams is charged with three counts of burglary.

Leonard said police in Veazie and other communities would be investigating whether the pair might be involved in other crimes in the area.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court April 18. (Nick McCrea, BDN)

Veazie police charge two in connection with Buck Hill burglaries

VEAZIE, Maine — A local man who allegedly broke into neighbors’ homes in search of prescription drugs was arrested Friday on numerous charges, three of them felonies.

Eric Daniel Clifford, 25, is charged with two counts of burglary, stealing drugs, theft by unauthorized taking and two counts of criminal mischief, Veazie Police Chief Mark Leonard said Monday.

The two burglary charges and the charge of stealing drugs are Class C felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 or both.

The burglary charges are connected to break-ins on March 9 and March 15 at two condominiums at Veazie Villas, where Clifford lived with his grandmother until his arrest, Leonard said.

Evidence gathered at the two crime scenes pointed to Clifford’s involvement, Leonard said. He and Veazie police Officer Kevin Sirois interviewed Clifford on Friday and arrested him the same day.

“We got a confession. In writing,” Leonard said Monday.

The doors of units Clifford broke into were damaged but nothing appeared to have been taken during the burglaries because Clifford was seeking drugs, Leonard said.

Leonard said, however, that Clifford admitted he entered a third unit, invited, and while there stole prescription drugs and about $60 cash from a woman’s purse.

Clifford, who was taken to Penobscot County Jail after his arrest, was released on bail late Monday afternoon, the chief said.

According to the Bangor Daily News archives, the burglaries were not Clifford’s first brush with the law.

In 2005, Clifford was charged with seven counts of forgery in connection with checks he stole from the Bangor West Side Little League, wrote out to himself and then cashed.

Clifford had taken the checks from his father’s house where they were kept and from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, 2005, forged his father’s signature on seven checks and cashed them at several convenience stores, a market and a supermarket, according to police reports.

Clifford was fined $500, sentenced to eight months in jail and one year of probation and ordered to pay $300 in restitution.

Local man arrested in connection with Veazie Villa break-ins

Apr 22 2025

Veazie Police Arrest Two Men on Drunk Driving Charges

VEAZIE, Maine — Veazie police have charged two men with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants in two separate incidents.

Both cases involved male drivers with female passengers, both arrests started with traffic stops for speeding, and Veazie police Sgt. Keith Emery, who arrested both men, was watching traffic from the parking lot of the same State Street business when both men allegedly sped past it.

On Saturday, Aug. 18, Emery was monitoring traffic around 9:30 p.m. when he saw a vehicle speed past on State Street headed toward Bangor. Emery pulled the vehicle over and approached the male driver, Peter Cooley, 44, of Milford. A female passenger also was in the car.

Emery reported that he smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and that Cooley’s speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. Cooley told the sergeant he hadn’t had anything to drink that night, the report states.

Emery asked Cooley to step out of the vehicle and conducted a field sobriety test, which Cooley failed. Cooley was arrested, charged with operating while under the influence, and taken to Penobscot County Jail.

An intoxilyzer test showed Cooley had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent, according to the police report. The threshold for OUI is 0.08.

Cooley had no record of any convictions, the report states.

Six days earlier, on Aug. 12 around 1:20 a.m., Emery had been watching the road from the same parking lot when he clocked a vehicle traveling on State Street into Veazie at 65 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Emery stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Benjamin Malo, 29, of Veazie, who had a female passenger in his vehicle. The sergeant reported smelling the odor of alcohol in the vehicle and that Malo’s speech was slurred.

Malo admitted to drinking two beers that night, but failed a field sobriety test. During a portion of the test in which he was asked to write the alphabet from “c” to “w” on a piece of paper, Malo dropped the pen twice and did not sign or date the paper as the officer had requested, according to Emery.

Malo, who has a history of driving-related convictions dating back more than a decade, was charged with operating while under the influence and speeding 30 mph above the posted speed limit.

A intoxilyzer test later showed Malo had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 percent.

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