LEWISTON — Iman Osman, a member of the Lewiston School Committee and City Councilor-elect from Ward 5, was indicted Monday on theft charges, according to court documents.
Osman, 36, was charged with one count of receiving stolen property and one count of theft by unauthorized taking.
The charges stem from the alleged theft of two firearms sometime between Nov. 15, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2024.
Osman, a social worker and executive director of the Lewiston Auburn Youth Network, was nominated to the Lewiston School Committee by Mayor Carl Sheline and confirmed by the City Council in 2024.
He was elected as Ward 5’s city councilor in November, and is set to be seated in January.
Osman has been at the center of public scrutiny over his legal address — 210 Blake St. — which some dispute and say should disqualify him from representing Ward 5. That address was also listed on the indictment.
The building at that address was condemned in October 2024 after a drug raid by local police, and there has been no timeline established for Osman’s return. Osman has not made public where he is currently living, but has said through his lawyer that he intends to return to the Blake Street address once renovations are complete.
“Osman’s residence is 210 Blake St. and he has every intention of continuing to reside there moving forward,” attorney Kiernan Majerus-Collins said last month.
At the School Committee’s Nov. 24 meeting, Ward 2 member Janet Beaudoin made a motion for an investigation into Osman’s residence. The committee voted 5-4 against the investigation.
“(The) decision not to allow an investigation into a residency concern is a blow to transparency and public trust,” Beaudoin said in a statement. “We owe it to our constituents to take every credible concern seriously. I’m extremely frustrated that a majority of this committee chose not to even look at the facts. Integrity matters. The public deserves clarity, not avoidance.”
The city looked into the residency issue and, after consulting with the Maine secretary of state’s office, declined to pursue the matter.
The state’s definition of residence says “the residence of a person is that place where the person has established a fixed and principal home to which the person, whenever temporarily absent, intends to return.”
Reached early Wednesday, Majerus-Collins said he was not aware of the indictment.
Sheline expressed concern Wednesday with the indictment and said he trusts the judicial process and will be following the case closely.
“I acknowledge the gravity of this indictment and am deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding this matter,” Sheline said.
