By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Police scrambled from neighborhood to neighborhood throughout the day Tuesday as brawls were reported in several sections of the city.

A dozen people, several of them juveniles, were charged with crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to obstructing public ways. Another dozen were summoned for violations such as jaywalking and lingering in street intersections.

Police seized several baseball bats and a pellet gun as they sorted out fight after fight and brought suspects to the station or the county jail. Only minor injuries were reported.

At 4:45 p.m., officers swarmed on the Park Street parking garage after several people were reported fighting with bats and a gun. Investigators said that scrap stemmed from an earlier brawl at a Lisbon Street youth club.

One witness said she was driving out of the parking garage after work when she saw one group of young men preparing to clash with another.

“I was driving past the garage when a bunch of kids started yelling and running into the street,” the 32-year-old Lewiston woman said. “They weren’t looking where they were going. They ran out in front of two buses and crossed the street.”

That witness, who did not want to be identified, said between eight and 10 teenagers ran to a car parked on Oak Street and came away with several baseball bats.

“They were jumping around and they ran back to the top of the garage,” the woman said. “I could see them up there swinging the bats, either fighting or hitting stuff.”

The first officer to arrive quickly got two suspects into custody. Several more cops swarmed the scene and began to look for others involved in the fight. By 5 p.m., a section of Oak Street near Park Street was clogged with police cars and young people.

“I heard one guy shouting that someone had pulled a gun on his brother,” the witness said.

Police arrested six people at that scene and summoned two others. They also seized a pellet gun believed to have been displayed during the fight.

Investigators said the group that fought at the parking garage had mixed it up earlier in the day in front of New Beginnings on Lisbon Street.

“We believe some of the same players were involved in both fights,” said Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre.

Shortly after that melee was brought under control, police were sent to Bartlett and Walnut streets, where several people were starting to fight. Officers separated the combatants before fists were thrown.

“We try to get people to move along, but they won’t disperse,” St. Pierre said. “They just keep coming back.”

At about 6:45 p.m., police were back at Bartlett and Walnut streets. Witnesses said a group of people was ganging up on a pair of drunk men when skirmishes broke out. Again, police attempted to restore order and charged four people.

“When there’s a fight or a disturbance and the police arrive, people need to understand that they have to disperse,” St. Pierre said. “If they don’t we have to take action.”

It was not believed the scraps at Walnut and Bartlett were related to the earlier fights at New Beginnings and the parking garage.