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2 arrested for fire
bomb thrown at officer’s car By Diana Graettinger from February 25, 2000 issue of Bangor Daily News MACHIAS — Two Pleasant Point reservation men who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a tribal police officer’s car may have done it to avenge family members who were among 17 arrested in a recent drug sweep. Kenneth D. ‘‘Guy’’ Larkin, 38, and Jeremy W. Stevens, 19, were charged with arson, and they appeared in 4th District Court on Wednesday. Judge Bernard Staples set bail at $50,000 with two pieces of property or $25,000 cash surety. The two men also were ordered not to return to the reservation. The two men remained in the Washington County Jail on Thursday night. According to an affidavit filed with the court, while the two men were drinking on Feb. 18 at the Pleasant Point residence of Brenda Breeze, they began to talk about fire bombing Officer James Ohmeis’ car because of the recent drug arrests. Breeze later admitted to police that they were all under the influence of alcohol at the time. ‘‘We were buzzing,’’ she said. Breeze told police that she did not believe the men were serious, but she said she told them not to fire bomb the house because Ohmeis’ wife and children were inside. She said the two men left about 15 minutes later, and each took a pair of rubber gloves. Around 11:30 p.m., Ohmeis’ car and house were damaged by fire. An investigation revealed that a brown bottle, similar to a beer bottle filled with an accelerant was lit and then thrown against the windshield of the officer’s car. ‘‘The bottle broke on impact and spread its contents over the car and nearby residence. Damage was limited to the exterior of the car and siding of the house,’’ the affidavit said. Although Ohmeis was not home at the time of the attack, his wife and children were inside. Pleasant Point Police rushed to the Ohmeis house. When Officer Robert Fitzsimmons arrived, he saw footprints leading from the car to the street. He followed the footprints, and they appeared to join with another set of footprints. The officer followed the footprints to Breeze’s apartment. When officers knocked on the door, an ‘‘intoxicated’’ Breeze answered, the affidavit said. ‘‘She alternatively said no one else was in her apartment, that two people named Alley Cat and Ronny Trott were there, and that Alley Cat and Charles Manson were there,’’ the statement said. Breeze allowed the officers to search her apartment, and the police found Stevens coming down the stairs into the kitchen area. He was wearing only a pair of pants. The officers checked the back door and noted another set of footprints entering the house. They went upstairs and found Larkin hiding behind the shower curtain, fully clothed, including a jacket. Police knew Larkin was out on bail and, as a condition of his release, was to have no contact with Breeze. Stevens allegedly tried to interfere while police were attempting to arrest Larkin on the bail violation, so the officers arrested him too. The men were taken to the Pleasant Point Police Department for questioning and later charged with arson. At first both men refused to answer questions. During his questioning, however, Larkin reportedly expressed anger at Officer Rickey Jamieson, who had been involved in his arrest. ‘‘Both Mr. Larkin and Mr. Stevens indicated that the events of the evening were ‘just the beginning,’ and that all officers would be subject to retribution for the recent drug arrests on the reservation,’’ the affidavit said. On Feb. 8 and 9, the Pleasant Point Police Department along with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency swooped down on Pleasant Point; its sister reservation, Indian Township; and Eastport. Seventeen people were arrested and charged with offenses ranging from trafficking in drugs to hindering apprehension and interfering with a police officer. The sweep, dubbed ‘‘Operation Apothecary,’’ was one of the largest multiple drug arrests in the history of Washington County. Police confiscated prescription drugs that included Dilaudid, OxyContin and morphine, known on the street as Washington County heroin. All the drugs are narcotics and considered to be highly addictive. During their questioning Friday at the police station, Stevens and Larkin continued to threaten police and their families. They eventually were taken to the Washington County jail. Larkin was given an intoxilizer test which revealed a blood level of .20. Pleasant Point Police Officer Robert Dore questioned Breeze who said that Stevens and Larkin came back to her apartment about 45 minutes after they left. Larkin went upstairs, Breeze said, and Stevens paced inside the house and kept saying, ‘‘You should have seen it!’’ and made a big upward sweeping gesture with his hands, the affidavit said. Breeze has not been charged. Officers also talked to one of Ohmeis’ neighbors who said he had seen two people running from the area of the fire. ‘‘One of them was screaming ‘f—- you.’ He recognized that voice as Kenneth Larkins,’’ the affidavit said. Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said both men appeared in court Wednesday. He said that as a condition of their bail, both men were ordered to have no contact with the Ohmeis family, not to use or possess intoxicants, and be subject to searches and drug testing. The judge also ordered them to report nightly to the local law enforcement agency. Cavanaugh said arson is a Class A crime, and if they are convicted, the men each could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison. ‘‘The state treats these matters as very serious, because each indicated that the motive for this conduct was retaliation for law enforcement’s recent arrests of 17 individuals, not all of them tribal members, and charged them with drug trafficking.’’ The assistant district attorney said Larkin had an extensive record and was out on bail as a result of a June 1999 domestic assault issue. When police tried to remove Larkin at that time, he pulled a knife on the officers. In October 1999, he was indicted by a grand jury for criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. Stevens has an extensive juvenile and adult record. Cavanaugh said he had contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine if the federal Domestic Terrorism Act applied to individuals who make and carry out threats against law enforcement agencies. ‘‘That is a very serious federal charge,’’ he said. The U.S. Attorney’s office, he said, was looking into the issue. Meanwhile, a probable cause hearing on the arson charge has been set for March 21. |
Copyright © 2003
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point
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