Couple test-drive pickup truck, forget to come back to dealership

A test drive of a new truck ended for two people with a ride to jail in the custody of Bangor police Tuesday evening.

Joseph M. Poulin, 38, was arrested and charged with theft by deception and on two warrants from Kennebec County, both charging him with failing to appear in court. Joy L. McClain, 44, who allegedly drove the pickup truck, was charged with theft by deception and with operating a motor vehicle while her license was suspended.

A third person found in their company was arrested on a warrant from Lincoln District Court.

Poulin and another man went to the Bean & Conquest dealership around 11 a.m. Tuesday and Poulin said he wanted a 4-by-4 and it had to be blue. He said he had $26,000 to spend. The two test-drove the Chevrolet pickup truck and came back and told the dealership that they needed to go to the bank, reported Bangor police Officer Mike DiMonaco.

An hour later — around 2:30 p.m. — Poulin and McClain returned, ostensibly for another test drive and a run to the bank. They were told to be back at 5 p.m. When the truck wasn’t back at 6:45 p.m., the dealership called police. While DiMonaco was investigating the theft, Officer Kevin MacLaren located the truck parked in a French Street driveway with six people in it.

One was Poulin, who couldn’t provide DiMonaco with any bank financing papers and said he was told he could keep the truck overnight. Among those also in the car was Charles E. Simon, 18, of Old Town who, it was learned, was wanted on a warrant and was arrested by Officer Paul Kenison.

McClain was located inside a residence and also taken into custody.

The truck had left Bean & Conquest with 11 miles on it, but when police found it, it had traveled another 52 miles and had many scrapes along its sides.

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Three teen-agers were charged Monday night in connection with a daylight theft of several hard drives from a Bangor computer store two weeks ago.

Adam J. Perkins, 18, of Brewer was summoned for theft as were two Brewer 17-year-olds. The names of the 17-year-olds were not released because they are juveniles.

Witnesses had described the getaway car as a gray Monte Carlo and gave a license plate that came back to a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. Bangor police Officer Dan Herrick reported Monday that while on patrol near Stillwater Avenue and Hogan Road he noticed the gray car and a license plate that appeared to match the one given. The witnesses had reported the number zero in the plate which was really a letter D.

Herrick stopped the car which was being driven by Perkins. In the car were several other teen-agers, including one of Perkins’ cohorts in the theft.

In Herrick’s cruiser, Perkins and the teen-ager admitted to taking three hard drives from the Excel Computer store on Frost Drive on March 5. Perkins said that it had been a spur of the moment thing with no planning involved.

The third person implicated had reportedly been on probation and was a passenger in the gray Monte Carlo, which belonged to his grandfather.

Herrick reported that the three said only three hard drives were taken, although the store said they were certain four hard drives had been stolen.

One of the hard drives was recovered from the 17-year-old who told Herrick it contained some artwork that was important to him. Two other hard drives had passed through several other hands and one was recovered.

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Trying to elude police early Sunday while he had beer in his hand, the 18-year-old stashed the beer where he hoped the Old Town police officer wouldn’t notice him do it.

The hiding place happened to be beside the passenger tire of a car parked in front of a bar on North Main Street. The 18-year-old, identified as Ryan McDougall, of Orono, then ran into the bar, reported Officer Todd Nadeau.

Police had noticed McDougall at the head of a group of people running down Center Street after they apparently had seen the police cruiser. Located inside the bar, McDougall was escorted outside where he reportedly admitted to drinking some of the bottles. He was summoned and charged with possession of alcohol by a minor.

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A woman told Bangor police that she recently received a suspicious call in which she was surveyed about her sexual habits. The man at the other end of the line claimed to be from a national AIDS research center and began to ask her personal questions about her sex life. She said the man asked her about how many times per week she had sex, how many partners she had had, whether it was protected sex and whether she had had any lesbian partners.

The woman told Officer Gregg Sproul that her phone number was new and that it had been unlisted. She said she called a local AIDS agency and was told it had received reports of similar calls. Sproul said the agency told him the call was likely someone looking for kicks rather than someone doing serious AIDS research.

— Compiled by Doug Kesseli