arrest

From the desk of Shannon Moss, DPS PIO

On Monday, October 25, 2021 at approximately 11:46 p.m. Maine State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on I-95 northbound at MM 18 in Wells. 

The preliminary investigation shows 43-year-old Cornelius Hegarty III of Salisbury, Massachusetts was driving his 2013 Toyota Corolla north on I-95 when he crashed into a 2021 Subaru Forester occupied by 64-year-old Carol Funk and 65-year-old Steven Funk of Scarborough. Both were transported to York Hospital for minor injuries. 

Hegarty was arrested and charged with Operating Under the Influence. He was summonsed to appear in court at later date. Prior to the crash, a complaint was reported to dispatch about Hegarty driving erratically. 
Hegarty was not injured.  

The crash remains under investigation.
 

From the desk of Shannon Moss, DPS PIO

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, at approximately 5:13 am Limington, Standish, and Hollis Fire Departments responded to a house fire at 259 Hardscrabble Road in Limington. When firefighters made entry into the home they discovered the deceased bodies of an adult male and female. 

The State Fire Marshal’s Office and Maine State Police’s Major Crimes Unit South were called in to investigate the suspicious deaths. Evidence Response Technicians continue to process the scene at this hour.

Shortly after the discovery, Maine State Police located 21 year Matthew Cote who they believe lived in the house. He was driving in Limington when a State Police Trooper spotted his car.

Cote was interviewed and arrested this afternoon. He has been charged with two counts of murder and was taken to the York County Jail.

At this time Maine State Police cannot identify the victims or confirm why their deaths are suspicious until after the autopsy, which will take place Friday at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta.
Hardscrabble Rd continues to be shut down and is expected to be for the next several hours while Major Crimes and the Fire Marshal’s Office investigate the scene.

Cote is expected to make his first court appearance at 2:30pm Friday via Zoom through York County Superior Court.

On May 25, 2021, Troopers from Troop A conducted a motor vehicle stop on South Waterboro Road in Lyman. As a result of the traffic stop, Darren Foglio, 51, of Waterboro, was taken into custody on 4 active warrants for his arrest without incident.

Foglio was on multiple sets of bail conditions that prohibited the use or possession of alcohol or illegal drugs and stated he must submit to random search and testing for those prohibited items. After he was placed under arrest, a search of the car was conducted which led to the discovery of alcohol and illegal narcotics.

Foglio was transported to the York County Jail where he was held without bail on the outstanding arrest warrants. He was also charged with Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine (Class C Felony), Unlawful Possession of a Schedule W Drug (Class C Felony), and 11 counts of Violating Conditions of release (Class E). He will also be indicted on Unlawful Possession of Morphine (Class C Felony), Darren was also held without bail on the new criminal charges.

Also charged as a result of the traffic stop was Darren’s sister, Denise Higgins-Foglio, 55, also of Waterboro. Denise was the driver of the motor vehicle and was subsequently charged with Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution (Class D) . Denise was transported to the York County Jail where she posted bail and was released.

A Lewiston Man is facing multiple charges after leading police on a chase while driving a motorcycle.

On April 24th, 2021, Trooper Tyler Nadeau was assisting Androscoggin County Sheriffs Office with a traffic stop on Route 202 in Greene. The Deputy attempted to stop a group on motorcycles driving aggressively. Only one of the three motorcycle stopped and the other two continued towards Leeds. Several minutes later one of the suspect motorcycles showed back up to the scene of the traffic stop. 

Trooper Nadeau saw the suspect motorcycle did not have a registration plate. Trooper Nadeau attempted to stop the motorcycle and the driver took off at a high rate of speed. Trooper Nadeau pursued the motorcycle for several miles until speeds were to dangerous to continue the pursuit. The driver continued to do multi vehicle passes in the oncoming lane and his speeds were clocked at 154mph. 

Several minutes later Trooper Nadeau located the suspect motorcycle in the town of Leeds. The driver again refused to stop and continued south bound on Route 202, towards Lewiston. Deputies in the Greene area clocked the suspect motorcycle at 135mph and started a pursuit. The pursuit was quickly terminated due to the speeds.

Hours later, Trooper Nadeau and several Deputies were able to identify the suspect as Devin Jeselskis of Lewiston. Mr. Jeselskis was located standing in the driveway of a residence in Auburn. After a short foot chase, Mr. Jelelski ran to a near by apartment building. Mr. Jeselskis surrendered from the apartment building and was taken into custody by Trooper Nadeau without incident. 

Mr. Jeselskis was charged by MSP with the following crimes:
1.    Eluding Class C Felony 
2.    Driving to Endanger Class C Felony 
3.    Criminal Speed Class E
4.    Operating without a License Class E
5.    Operating after Suspension Class E
6.    Several traffic citations 

A special “Thank You” to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case. This incident is still under investigation and the Sheriff’s Office also charged Mr. Jeselskis with several crimes.
 

Maine State Police Major Crimes Central arrested Kierra Francis, 28, of Bronx New York, and charged her with Felony Murder in relation to a homicide that occurred in early October of 2020. Francis was a passenger in a vehicle that Waterville Police was attempting to stop so State Police Detectives could take Francis into custody. The operator of the vehicle failed to stop for Waterville officers.  
 
Joshua Martin, 30, also of NY was shot to death at a Winthrop residence in October of 2020. State Police Detectives have been working over the past several months furthering the progression of this case. The investigation continues. There are no further details at this time.
 

On Nov. 11, 2020, Maine State Police Troopers from Troop D conducted a parole check on Trevor Cannell, 26, at 1 Poor’s Mills Road, in Belfast. Cannell was on parole for Burglary (Class A); Robbery (Class A); and Unlawful Possession of Schedule W Drugs (class B), out of Missouri.  Cannell is prohibited from the possession or use of illegal drugs or the misuse of prescription drugs.  Cannell is also prohibited as per his probation from the use or possession of firearms or dangerous weapons.  

During the check Cannell was found seated in a bedroom of the home. Located within the immediate area of Cannell several dangerous weapons were located.  4 large fixed blade knives, 3 folding knives, a tee-ball bat, a stun gun flashlight, brass knuckle stun gun, a stun gun, and pepper spray.  Separately located next to Cannell was a backpack containing a ski mask, club inscribed “Kill” and a replica Glock Pistol.  Located in the home was collection of cut drug straws containing white residue, a pill crusher, a pill canister containing white powder which has not yet been identified, two digital drug scales and 79 8mg Suboxone strips. Cannell was found to be in criminal possession of the Suboxone.   

Based upon the items located in the home Cannell was arrested and charged with Unlawful Possession of Schedule W Drugs and is held on a parole violation for his possession of his dangerous weapons, misuse of prescription drugs and new criminal conduct.  Cannell is a person of interest in an unrelated investigation into a crime of violence where seized weapons were used.  
 

State Police have arrested a 57-year-old Stockton Springs man and charged him in connection with the death of 63-year-old Dorothea Burke in the summer of 1984. Charged with Murder is Kirt Damon who was 20 years old at the time of Dorothea’s death. Damon was taken into custody Tuesday evening at his residence in Stockton Springs and taken to the Waldo County jail. Damon’s first court appearance was Wednesday in Waldo county Superior court. 

Dorothea’s family was notified of the arrest on Sept. 23, 2020 by members of the State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. 
 
On Saturday, June 23, 1984 Dorothea Burke attended a family wedding and was preparing to celebrate her birthday. Dorothea was well known in Stockton Springs and had retired from a Sardine Plant in Belfast. She had lived in the Stockton Square for a number of years.  
 
The Attorney General’s Office, the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Maine State Police were part of the initial investigation in 1984.  Detectives never stopped working this case and pursed all possible leads and avenues over the past 36 years. 
 
That work culminated with the case being presented to the Waldo county grand jury where an indictment for murder was handed down for Kirt Damon. Although Detectives have done a number of recent interviews in the Stockton Springs area, Detectives are asking the public to contact them if they have any new information. Detectives can be contacted at the Unsolved Homicide Unit in Augusta by calling 207-624-7143.
 

 
A Lewiston woman is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor after an investigation by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit (CCU).
 
On August 26, 2020, the Maine State Police CCU and the Lewiston Police executed a search warrant for Knox Street in Lewiston. Police arrested Laura Rideout (45) of Lewiston for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and transported her to the Androscoggin County Jail. A Sept 23, 2020 court date was set in Lewiston. Bail was set at $50,000 cash with conditions of no contact with any minor under 16 and specifically no contact with the minor victim.
 
Rideout is being charged with the following crimes:
-Gross Sexual Assault  / Class A crime
-Sexual Exploitation of Minor Under 12 / Class A crime
-Possess Sexual Explicit Material of Minor Under 12 / Class C crime
-Dissemination of Sexually Explicit Material / Class B crime
 
This investigation is ongoing and no further details will be released.

Maine State Police Major Crimes unit working with the Lewiston Police, United States Marshals Service and Vermont State Police were successful in developing information that has led to the arrest of Jaquille Coleman in Mississippi.  Deputies from the Hancock County Mississippi Sheriff’s Office located Coleman and placed him under arrest without incident.  Coleman will be returned to Maine to face charges that he murdered Natasha Morgan.
 
 

LEWISTON, Maine – A Lewiston man is facing charges after fleeing from police in Lewiston.

At approximately 11:40 a.m., on July 9, 2020, Tr. Ryan Phillips was in contact with agents from Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) who were requesting his assistance in stopping a motor vehicle in Lewiston.  The vehicle was suspected to be operated by Chad Nichols, 31, of Lewiston.  Nichols was a suspect of drug trafficking, had a revoked license and two active felony warrants for his arrest.  Tr. Phillips intercepted the vehicle near the intersection of Russell St. and College St. in Lewiston and initiated a traffic stop.  While the Trooper was approaching the vehicle, the operator took off, leading Tr. Phillips on a high-speed pursuit northbound on College Rd. into a rural part of Lewiston and into the town of Greene.  

The chase continued into Greene, when the suspect vehicle turned onto Rt. 202 headed back toward Lewiston.  Lewiston Police officers set up spikes on Rt. 202 near the Lewiston/Greene line, but the deployment was not effective.  As the chase continued back into populated area of Lewiston, the decision was made to terminate the pursuit by Sgt. Joseph Bureau.  Simultaneously, Pilot Supervisor Jerry Pearson was airborne and had a visual on the suspect vehicle.  Pearson led responding units to that vehicle and provided a description of the suspect, as the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area off Tall Pines Drive. Cpl. Jonathan Russell and K-9 Gus began a track at that location.

MDEA agents received a tip that Nichols had been picked up and later located him in a vehicle on Scribner Blvd, near the intersection of Webster St.  Lewiston PD officers were first on scene at that location and initiated a felony stop.  Nichols was taken into custody at this location and was charged with Eluding, Driving to Endanger, Criminal Speed, and Operating after Revocation Habitual Offender.