NEW GLOUCESTER — A father and son remained jailed Thursday night following a nearly eight-hour police standoff at their 23 Winsaw Road home earlier in the day.

Maurice Diggins, 57, and his son, Dillon, 26, were arrested on charges of creating a police standoff and on charges stemming from an earlier incident in Windham.

The drama began at about 9 a.m., police said.

According to neighbors and other witnesses, police went to the home Thursday morning to serve a warrant and “it didn’t go well,” according to one neighbor.

Cumberland County Sheriff’s Capt. Donald Goulet confirmed that fact later in the day. Deputies had gone to the Winsaw Road home looking for the Digginses, each of whom was named in a warrant out of Windham.

Maurice Diggins was wanted on a charge of aggravated assault, Goulet said. His son was wanted on that charge and a charge of aggravated criminal mischief.

When the men refused to come out of the house, police quickly called for backup. That’s because police are familiar with both men from earlier incidents, Goulet said.

Just after 2:15 p.m., the Cumberland County Tactical Team started making its way to the home. A short time later, Maurice and another, uninvolved person voluntarily left the home.

Dillon Diggins refused to come out, police said. Officers eventually had to use a police dog and a type of tear gas to flush him out of a crawl space.

“Dillon hid very well inside the residence,” Goulet said.

The men were taken to the Cumberland County Jail. Maurice Diggins was charged with hindering apprehension, for, police say, lying about his son’s whereabouts when officers first arrived at the home.

Details about the incident in Windham were not immediately available Thursday night.

The dead-end Winsaw Road is off North Pownal Road. It was closed and many members of the Cumberland County Sheriff”s Department, ambulance personnel and members of the Windham Police Department were said to be at the scene. 

An area behind the New Gloucester Community Building appeared to be in use as a command center as police and emergency personnel could be seen gathering there throughout the day.

Parents of children going to New Gloucester schools were notified at about noon by Superintendent Bruce Beasley that an incident was occurring in town, but that the incident was in no way endangering the children and that no additional precautions were being taken.

According to town tax maps, the mobile home at 23 Winsaw Road is owned by Florence Gilman.

— Freelance writer Ellie Fellers contributed to this report.

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