Man wanted in California is arrested

HAMPDEN — A man wanted on a rape charge in California was arrested in Hampden Saturday afternoon.

James W. Collins, 28, was arrested for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in Sacramento, Calif., late last month, and had been a fugitive since then, according to Officer Tim Cotton of the Hampden Office of Public Safety.

Collins, who allegedly had threatened to kill police officers, was found living in a rented apartment at 8 Kelly Lane in Hampden, which is owned by a elderly couple, Cotton said.

Members of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department waited at the house Friday night, Cotton said, but Collins didn’t return until Saturday. Collins’ parents live in Carmel.

After being notified by the owners of the house that Collins had come home, officials returned there, called the owners and told them to leave, and then surrounded the house. They then called the house again and convinced Collins to come out. He was arrested in the driveway a short time later, at 4:45 p.m., Cotton said.

Cotton said that the extradition of Collins to California is automatic, and that Collins is scheduled to be arraigned in a Bangor court this week. He remained at the Penobscot County Jail Sunday on $100,000 bail.