Crime & Public Safety

The possible vigilante action late July 11 on Deer Island appears to have been in response to the large number of thefts occurring on the island during the past few years, with islanders blaming a group of people who were staying at an abandoned house near Fairhaven.

Four Sipayik residents were fortunate to escape a fire in their two-apartment building in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 13. A 21-year-old woman, Sarah Stanley, also of Sipayik, has been charged with arson for allegedly setting the fire while the building's occupants were sleeping.

In a discussion on the issues facing law enforcement in Washington County, including the increase in violent crime caused by drug trafficking, the Calais City Council met on April 27 with representatives of local, county and state law enforcement agencies.

After about 40 minutes of discussion, the Washington County Budget Advisory Committee voted, during their November 21 meeting, to include one additional deputy position and the equipment to support that position in the 2022-2023 budget.

The Robbinston woman who has been charged with the murder of Paula Johnson of Pembroke last February pled not guilty to the charge on October 19. Rebecca Moores, 42, who was arrested in July, is being held without bail at the Washington County Jail in Machias.

On June 1, a jury in Waldo County Superior Court in Belfast found Northfield resident Thomas Bonfanti, 65, guilty on three counts of murder, one count of aggravated attempted murder and one count of elevated aggravated assault in a shooting spree that occurred in the Machias area on February 3,...