LEWISTON — Three people have been arrested and charged in the damaging of about 150 grave sites at the Riverside Cemetery on Summer Street, according to a release issued by the Lewiston Police Department Tuesday.
Shane Haskell
Billie Coburn
Jesse Macia
On Aug. 20 police were called to the cemetery, located at 192 Summer St. About 150 grave markers had been vandalized over night, resulting in an estimated $50,000 in damage.
Today, police arrested Shane Haskell, 20, of Lewiston, Billie Coburn, 18, of Lewiston, and Jesse Macia, 18, of Lewiston. All three men were charged with aggravated criminal mischief and desecration and defacement of a burial site.
Lewiston Police Chief Michael Bussiere praised the efforts of Det. Lee Jones, who headed up the investigation, as well as members of Patrol Division and Community Resource Team who assisted in the investigation.
"This senseless act of vandalism has really touched a nerve in the police department and in this community, but one positive development has been the outpouring of support from those that have volunteered to help restore the graves at the Riverside Cemetery," Bussiere said in a prepared statement.
Haskell, Coburn and Macia are currently in custody at the Androscoggin County Jail.
The investigation is continuing and additional arrests and charges are likely, according to the police.
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After reading all of these posts
I don't think these boys got arrested.....they got rescued!!!!
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I guess these idots didn't have anything better to do...
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I hope you people never get mad at me.
Sadly, these boys need longer sentences than the court here is apt to give them.
My hope and prayer is that whatever they get, that it's enough to turn their lives around. If they are capable of this kind of disrespect at age 18, what are they going to be like at age 30?
I hope a harsh sentence causes a change of heart in them.
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Thank God they were arrested it would have been nothing short of an epic failure should it have taken Police a couple days to solve a crime because as we know the reality in Law Enforcement is similar to that of CSI, a crime is committed and the suspects are found and arrested in one hour (with commercial breaks), right Tron?
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Shouldn't he go back to work strummin' a banjo on a bridge.....
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Wasn't Deliverance a documentary about Canton, Me?
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Cut their hands off.
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Jail Time. & hard labor I suspect they'd have a record.
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I share everyone's disgust for these people and their deed.
I want to know what was their motivation?
Do people brag about this kind of thing?
You can't get so intoxicated or high that you want to drive to a cemetery and work at tearing down 1,000 lb monuments all night....
Why do people (?) do this to cemeteries?
Are we looking at true sociopaths who want to express destructive behavior as loud a possible?
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Grave Digging is to good for them ? Let see if we get a follow up on these three .
( SUN JOURNAL ) Thank you
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is the question! Senseless - they should be placed in a coffin sized cell with no human contact, food or water for days.
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Hearty congrats to the LPD and the Lewiston Maniacs. Thanks for finding these useless bums and putting them in jail where they belong. Please DO make them work on the cemetary repairs AND pay hefty fines AND do some jail time AND probation afterward. Oh, and make them attend school. They all look like they dropped out of 5th grade.
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I'm glad the police department was able to make arrests so quickly. I was afraid this would go unsolved. I hope they've got the right guys, and all of them, and I hope justice is served for this scumbag crime.
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Do parents not teach their kids respect anymore??? Ugh, this is the ultimate disrespect. This makes me want to vomit. How cruel and just plain STUPID!!!!! C'mon guys. Luckily my daughter isn't burried there, but if her stone EVER got touched and I found out who did it, KARMA will come back full force!!! How dare u stupid idiots for descicrated someone's loved ones FINAL resting place. You think its funny now??? Its equivalent to breaking in ones house and turning it upside down and stealing and then assaulting them. SHAME ON YOU. YOU MAKE ME SICK. Thank you for the volunteers for helping to set the stones back, you should get a metal of honor. I use to live by that cemetary and it amazed me everytime, reading the stones, and imagined what kind of life they lived. Its one of the oldest cemetaries thats full of rich history for lewiston/Auburn. I hope you a holes get toppled over and "can't get up". I spit on you.
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Every time I read your post, I have to wipe your spit off of my computer screen,
You sound like a gypsy, are you gonna cast a spell on them, or just spit on them?
What these boys did was just awful, and now they are caught and the law will deal with them.
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as part of any sentence they should be made to work fixing what they destroyed ! Out of jail @ 5am work all day fixing the damage then back to jail until alls fixed !!!
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What losers.
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bunch of morons...spit in their faces........good job LAPD
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Kudos to Lewiston PD and especially Det. Lee Jones for a job well done! Bravo Zulu!
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Punks. But anyone who believes they'll get any kind of meaningful sentence is kidding themselves. I agree with the poster(s) who have said they should be digging graves and/or other labor at another cemetery as restitution. The punishment should fit the crime. But don't expect that. They'll be let out on bail, then will get probation and a small fine.
Hey, I'm all for some vigilante justice though. If the system won't punish these people - and I'm not just talking about these three, but all the hoodlums we read about on an almost daily basis - maybe we should! Imagine that. If punks like this regularly turned up bloodied on a street corner, maybe that would be a meaningful deterrent. Ah. Dare to dream. But I'm just as much of a wuss as the rest of you. I don't want to hurt MY hand pounding on a punk. I work for a living and need my hands!
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Every employer and business owner in the twin cities should keep their names and pictures on file. They should be denied at every turn and rejected by the rest of our community. Further, they should have to spend every day for the next year tending to the cemetary.
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Too bad these scum weren't roughed up a bit while resisting arrest.
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Det. Lee Jones GREAT WORK I HOPE ALL THE PUNKS GET WHAT COMEING TO THEM I BET THEYS A TLEAST 3 MORE THATS STILL HIDEING
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They should have to work off the cost of their vandalism through community service since they're probably not gainfully employed. And I mean that, no slap on the wrist, some very hard back-breaking work. It would do them a world of good, plus I'm sure there's lots that needs to be done around the city (since the awesome Maineiacs already voluntarily fixed the grave stones.)
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GREAT NEWS GREAT NEWS GREAT NEWS LEWISTON POLICE JOB WELL DONE
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Put them to work side by side with those that are cleaning up the cemetery and repairing the grave stones. Perhaps while they are there, family members and friends of the deceased can stop by and tell them about the lives of their loved ones whose stones were damaged, and the hurt they feel by the damage that was done by these three. Make them apologize personally to the friends and family members of those whose stones these young people toppled over and damaged.
Then give them community service....perhaps they can watch over the cemetery at night so this doesn't happen again by anyone else. Each night of the week these vandals can take turns being security guards over the cemetery. :)
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A nice idea, but it wouldn't work on these three. They obviously have no concept of respect, compassion or what it means to be a member of the community. I think we should simply warehouse them in the state prison.
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This would certainly make these guys think about what they did if they had to clean up the damage..no other punishment would sink in faster
and they may think before doing something so stupid the next time they are bored and have nothing better to do that get drunk and topple over headstones of the dead...the cleanup would certainly take longer than it took to mess up the place so it would keep them busy for a good long time..
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the chuck a puck thing sounds great.. Call it "chuck a puck, hit a scmuck, and win a buck"
Or you could just hockey tape them to the nets and fire slapshots..
Go Maineaics!
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Lock them up and throw away the key!
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What a bunch of scumbags.... yet again, more of Lewistons finest upstanding young citizens !!! As you can see by the look on their faces they have total lack of RESPECT for anything. I bet they do not even hold down a job. They better not get a slap on the wrist and let off for time served ! I would say alot of community service at all the cemeterys in Lewiston and Auburn. Mowing, raking, maintaining and cleaning the stones. Better yet how about some old fashion grave digging with a shovel, maybe some back breaking work would smarten them up
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'Bout Time!!
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You can talk all you want and slam the PD's all you want but can you do better?? I have a feeling if you did the investigation there would be thousands of criminals walking around and nobody in jail.........
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Human centipede 'em.
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Three people disagree with my comment?? Why hello there, Shane, Billie, and Jesse's moms!
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I'd settle for some good olde fashoined town square humiliation. Bring back the stocks, or pillory..
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