PORTLAND – A Mechanic Falls man and a once-notorious felon from Whitefield were among those indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on weapons charges.

Mark Duval, 35, of Dunlop Avenue, Mechanic Falls, was charged by the grand jury with being a felon in possession of stolen firearms. Duval, who has a long criminal history in the Lewiston area, is accused of keeping guns after he was forbidden to do so after previous felony convictions.

The U.S. District Court grand jury also indicted 57-year-old Dennis Friel on charges of being a felon in possession of a gun and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Friel was charged in November, along with his son, after police raided their home and said they seized 10 pounds of pot, cash and a handgun. He was arrested again in December after a probation officer reported he found marijuana in Friel’s home during a visit. In that case, he was charged with violating conditions of release.

For Friel, the indictment is the latest in a long criminal history. He has served time in prison for drug offenses, as well as sentences for being a felon in possession of guns.

In 1983, Friel gained notoriety after he was accused of spraying the number “666” and the word “Babylon” on 30 churches in Androscoggin, Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties.

Friel, a fundamentalist Christian from Bowdoin at the time, was charged in the spree after churches in Lewiston, Durham, Bowdoin and several other towns were targeted. Friel went to trial on a charge of aggravated criminal mischief.

The trial quickly grew chaotic, with the judge ordering Friel out of the courtroom and his lawyer remaining silent in protest as the proceedings continued. A mistrial was declared, and both Friel and his attorney, Andrews Campbell, were jailed for contempt of court.

Before Friel could be tried again, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that he was entitled to the defense he chose, and could not be tried twice for the same crime.

Friel was free of the criminal mischief charge, but in May 1985 he was convicted on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Soon after, he became the focus of a manhunt when he failed to serve time on the conviction.

In June 1986, he was captured after a dramatic chase in Bowdoin and was sent to jail to serve time for the felon-in-possession charge.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department investigated the latest case against Friel. It was not clear Wednesday when he will next appear in court.

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