LEWISTON – A Lewiston man being hunted by police across the state Wednesday was said to be depressed, suicidal and carrying a gun as he fled in a stolen car.
Police from local, county and federal agencies Wednesday were searching for Derek Bo Dube, 26, in connection with a pair of home invasions in the Boothbay Harbor area and other crimes.
In Lewiston, where Dube has a long criminal history, police were notified that Dube may be heading to his hometown. Past court records show Dube living on Sabattus Street, although his current address is not known.
Agents from the Central Maine Violent Crime Task Force were also notified and joined the search by late Wednesday afternoon.
In the police bulletin, officers were advised that Dube was known to be suicidal and that he was said to have declared that he would not be taken alive. He was described as unstable and police were warned that Dube may be considering “suicide by cop” if he were cornered. The term is generally used for people who choose to get shot by police rather than be captured.
2 chases this week
Police said Dube was wanted in connection with two armed robberies at homes in the Boothbay Harbor area earlier this week. Between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, Dube was involved in two high-speed chases with various police departments, according to police alerts that went out Wednesday afternoon.
Late Wednesday morning, a Lincoln County Sheriff’s officer spotted Dube driving a stolen van on Route 1 in Wiscasset, police said. A chase ensued, with police pursuing Dube south along Route 1.
At about noon, police said Dube crashed the minivan at a car lot near Routes 1 and 144. With officers close behind, the suspect took off on foot and disappeared into the woods, police said. The hunt moved into the sky as Maine Warden Service officials began searching for the suspect from aircraft circling around the area.
Hours later, police learned that Dube may have stolen another car from a residence on Shady Lane in Wiscasset, a 2001 silver Dodge Intrepid, and began driving south on Route 1.
At 4 p.m., alerts went out to county, state and local police departments advising that Dube was on the loose and was considered armed and dangerous. Police believe Dube was carrying a gun as he ran from police.
Sabattus home invasion
In the winter of 1999, Dube was one of two people arrested and charged in a home invasion in Sabattus. In that case, Dube was accused of bursting into the home of a 57-year-old woman on Elm Street, threatening her with a gun and forcing her to remain under her bedcovers while he ransacked her home.
Dube and a 17-year-old suspect fled the home when a newspaper carrier interrupted the robbery, police said. Sabattus police and task force agents eventually tracked him down. Dube was charged in that case with burglary, theft, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and assault.
Less than a year before that home invasion, in June 1998, Dube was charged with elevated aggravated assault after beating a man with a drinking glass in Lewiston. It was not clear how much jail time Dube served on the charge.
By nightfall Wednesday, police in Lewiston-Auburn and surrounding towns were on the lookout for Dube. Federal agents from the task force were also working with other departments and tracking down Dube’s acquaintances in hopes of discovering his whereabouts.
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