RUMFORD – A former Norway police chief is scheduled to be arraigned May 3 in Oxford County District Court on a charge of drunken driving.
Timothy B. Richards, 45, of Lovell, was charged with operating under the influence on March 5, according to police records. He was released on $700 unsecured bail. Richards was also summoned on a charge of speeding.
According to Rumford Sgt. Tracey Higley’s report about the incident, a cell phone caller reported seeing a vehicle “all over the road” on Route 2 at 4:44 p.m. March 5.
Higley located the vehicle, stated that he observed the driver committing a traffic offense, and subsequently stopped the car.
Richards joined the Norway Police Department in 1995, became acting chief in 1998 and chief in 1999.
Town Manager David Holt fired Richards in March 2004 after a controversy that erupted a month earlier involving a subordinate employee, former Norway Patrol Officer Cynthia M. Mitchell of Harrison, whom Richards had been dating since 2001.
Mitchell obtained a temporary protection-from-abuse order against Richards when the relationship ended.
On March 4, 2004, a Bridgton District Court judge continued Mitchell’s order for a year. Holt suspended Richards the same day, then fired him 18 days later. On April 15, 2004, Norway selectmen unanimously upheld Holt’s action.
According to police, the OUI charge is Richards’ first drunken driving offense.
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