By A. M. Sheehan AREA — Norway, Paris and Oxford. Three different towns, three similar experiences. Riding with the local police agencies is an eye-opening experience. Depending on the time of year, the temperature, the phases of the moon, it can be a very busy night or a very slow one. It can be alcohol heavy […]
Maine Crime
Police, crime and courts news from the Sun Journal.
911 calls from Oxford Casino have almost doubled
By Leslie H. Dixon OXFORD — The Police Department has seen a nearly 80 percent increase in calls for service from the Oxford Casino so far this year, but local officials say improvements are being made to cut down on the local response. According to information from the department, the Oxford Police Department has answered 198 […]
Oxford Hills community urged to take just an hour to show support
By Rob Federico Norway Police Chief What are the purple lights and bows around the state all about? I have been asked this question in October for several years now. I have always answered with: “It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” and left it at that. October has been designated the month that we raise awareness […]
Oxford Police need help identifying man
DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? — On Friday, Sept. 2, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Oxford Police Sgt. Rickie Jack stopped a suspicious vehicle in reference to a traffic complaint on Main Street in Oxford. The operator told Jack he didn’t have a license. While Jack was speaking with the subject, the subject bolted and ran into […]
A night in the Oxford County jail
By A.M. Sheehan PARIS — Loud. Every door in the Oxford County Jail clangs shut with a metal bang that jars the soul as it reverberates down the corridors. Cold. Dully painted cinder block walls, tile floors and heavy metal doors. Small windows allowing sight into each of the six cell blocks. This is not a […]
What happens when defendants are ruled incompetent for trial
With IQs too low to stand trial, some Maine defendants are being put back on the street again and again. Less help for them, more risk to the public.
A book, a cop, a teacher and bunch of kids … together learning good choices at Oxford Elementary School
OXFORD — It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but in reality, it is much more powerful than that. A teacher, an author and a DARE officer gathered at Oxford Elementary School recently – along with the entire fifth grade – in the culmination of a health unit on healthy choices, which tackled the […]
Norway woman connected to fatal OD hits police cruiser in Gray
Staff Report LEWISTON — The Maine State Police say a trooper was injured Wednesday night when a car hit his cruiser while parked on the Maine Turnpike in Gray. State Police Cpl. Kyle Pelletier’s cruiser was parked at a construction site when he was assisting road crews who had closed down the passing lane for […]
Dispatcher, caller meet after Oxford Meadow fire
By A.M. Sheehan COUNTY — It is just before 2 a.m. and the Oxford County Regional Communications Center is quiet. Candace Jack, an 11-year veteran dispatcher, is the call-taker for the shift. She is the one who answers 911 calls to dispatch, determines if it is medical, fire or police and routes to the appropriate dispatcher. […]
After 25 years, Skip Mowatt finally Paris police chief
PARIS — Things have come full circle for new Paris Police Chief Hartley “Skip” Mowatt and his grandson, Jordan Davis. As Jordan was there in 2000 – albeit in diapers – when then-Police Chief David Verrier pinned and promoted Mowatt to sergeant, Jordan was again there on Thursday, June 16, this time putting the pin on his […]