SABATTUS – A Sabattus man suspected of passing thousands of dollars worth of bad checks in Maine, was captured Friday in Kingston, Tenn., after he tried to run down two police officers, injuring one, police said.
Robert M. Fain, 48, of Glenview Drive was arrested after Topsham police got a tip from a woman in Tennessee who said she saw his photo on mainemostwanted.com., Topsham police Detective Mark Gilliam said Friday night.
The call came about 5 p.m. from a woman who told police she had been dating Fain for about two weeks when her daughter became suspicious, checked the Internet and found his photo and writeup. The Internet description advised people to call the Topsham police department if they had any information on his whereabouts.
Gilliam said the woman told Topsham police Fain was sitting outside her place of employment at that moment. Police advised her to call Kingston authorities, he said.
“They confronted him,” Gilliam said, in a stolen pickup from New Hampshire. “At that point, on approach of the officer, Mr. Fain tried to back into a police vehicle and the officer feared for his safety and opened fire on the vehicle and shot a tire.”
Fain drove forward, and the officer shot out another tire. “It is my understanding on his attempted escape he rammed several vehicles in the parking lot” and collided with another police cruiser, totaling it and sending the officer to the hospital, the detective said he was told by Kingston police Lt. Gary Nelson.
“The chase continued, and he ended up spinning out of control and was taken into custody by local officials,” Gilliam said.
Fain was alone at the time, the detective said.
The officer was released from the hospital around 8:45 p.m. Friday, he said.
Fain is being being investigated by at least six agencies in Maine and New Hampshire in connection with felony incidents involving negotiating worthless instruments, according to the Web site. There are active warrants for his arrest in Maine, New Hampshire and Florida, the site stated.
Fain has allegedly been involved in incidents involving companies in Maine and New Hampshire that have lost between $60,000 and $200,000 worth of goods because of bogus checks. Fain gave a Topsham company a check for $13,000 drawn on a closed account for two ATVs, according to the Web site.
Gilliam said the process is under way for the state of Maine to bring Fain back. Topsham has a warrant for his arrest on a charge of negotiating a worthless instrument.
“There are also other departments who want him,” Gilliam said, including those in New Hampshire, Florida and South Carolina.
Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre said Friday night an active warrant from New Hampshire lists a charge of theft by deception/bad checks, and one from Florida lists failure to appear on a charge of fraud.
Fain, who previously lived in Lewiston, has an extensive criminal history in Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, Texas, New York and Oklahoma, according to mainemostwanted.com.
Kingston is a town of 4,600 residents in eastern Tennessee.
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