AUBURN — A Livermore Falls man accused of intentionally smashing into a police car last year was charged Tuesday with two felonies.
An Androscoggin County grand jury handed up an indictment charging Robert J. Ryan, 63, with two counts of aggravated criminal mischief.
Each count is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
He also was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving an unattended vehicle, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
Ryan was issued a summons.
According to investigators, Ryan’s vehicle was seen on video surveillance damaging two Livermore Falls police cruisers and an electronic message sign on Dec. 7, 2023, when he reportedly intentionally backed a vehicle into a police cruiser parked at the town’s police station, forcing it into the cruiser parked next to it, as well as a town sign in front of the Town Office.
The police station and Town Office are in the same building on Main Street.
The vehicle, reportedly driven by Ryan, then left the area.
Officials estimated the total damage to the cruisers at nearly $7,500 and damage to the electronic sign at more than $15,000.
Investigation into the incident had been turned over to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office to avoid a conflict of interest.
Before the incident Dec. 7, Ryan had logged several complaints about the police department.
Ryan had called 911 several times on a day in November, reaching the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center to complain about a confrontation he had with a tow truck driver who had been trying to repossess a vehicle at a residence near his.
A Livermore Falls officer had reportedly responded more than an hour later, after taking someone to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn. The officer had talked with Ryan and had issued him a warning for disorderly conduct, according to Livermore Falls police.
That town’s acting police chief reportedly met with Ryan a couple of days later.
At selectmen meetings in November and December, Ryan said he was concerned about the local police department’s slow response to the situation with the tow truck driver.
Ryan said his life was threatened by a person with the tow truck company and he hadn’t felt safe.
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