Man pleads innocent to gun charges> Resident of Castle Hill faces 15 years i

BANGOR — An Aroostook County man pleaded innocent Thursday to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Martin Clark, 42, of Castle Hill was ordered jailed pending a detention hearing next week. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Eugene Beaulieu at U.S. District Court.

Convicted in 1991 of first-degree sexual assault in Connecticut, Clark faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted of the federal counts.

He also faces several state charges in Aroostook County Superior Court, which could net him close to 25 additional years in prison if convicted.

According to Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams, Clark came to the attention of authorities after game wardens charged him with hunting and trapping violations last spring and summer. Then, a domestic assault charge was filed on him in July. The incident involved his live-in partner, although Adams said he didn’t know if the woman was Clark’s wife or girlfriend. On July 30, he was charged with assault and with prohibitive possession of a firearm.

“That is the kind of category in which you mix firearms and it interests federal authorities,” Adams said of Clark’s assault charge.

On Aug. 8, Clark was charged with violating conditions of his release, after he allegedly contacted the domestic-assault victim, despite being ordered by a judge not to do so.

In another case file, Clark is charged with shooting deer out of season in May, with hunting bear out of season in August, and with shooting a domestic cat on Oct. 21. Wardens also charged him with maintaining traps without a permit.

Clark also is charged with theft of a firearm, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, and operating a motor vehicle after suspension of his license.

Adams since has dropped the prohibitive possession of a firearm charge.

In federal court, Adams is charged with possessing a 20-gauge shotgun and a .30-06-caliber rifle. He also is charged with possessing 61 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and with more than 300 rounds of ammunition for other types of firearms.