Man indicted on weapons violations

BANGOR – A Bangor man arrested three months ago after he allegedly choked his girlfriend and threatened further harm against her was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on weapons violations in connection with the incident.

Richard W. Mahan, who according to the indictment is either 49 or 47, faces the possibility of decades in prison and a total of $750,000 in fines if convicted of three counts – possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony and manufacture of an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

During the August incident police surrounded Mahan’s apartment at 75 Ohio St. They evacuated three residents in the vicinity as a safety precaution after his girlfriend called police from a phone at a convenience store and reported her injuries. When police called for Mahan to come out of the apartment he turned himself in, according to a newspaper report.

Mahan has a violent felony record in Massachusetts where, in 1975, he was convicted in Plymouth County Superior Court of two counts of rape and one count of committing an unnatural act.

A year earlier, Mahan was convicted in Suffolk County Superior Court of armed robbery and assault by means of a dangerous weapon.

After the incident at his apartment last August, police discovered the firearms and turned that aspect of the case over to the U.S. Attorney’s Northern Maine Violent Crimes Task Force.

Mahan faces state court charges of illegal possession of a firearm and assault. He was denied bail at an October hearing and remains in jail on state charges.

Timothy J. Theriault, 38, of Bangor was named in a superseding indictment for various drug violations. Initially indicted in September, the charges against Theriault have been expanded.

He now faces one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting the commission of that crime; one count of possession of psilocin, a hallucinogenic drug; one count of possession of propoxyphene, a narcotic similar to methadone; and one count of possession of MDMA, a drug commonly known as ecstasy.

If convicted of the cocaine count, Theriault faces a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both. The three other counts each carry a maximum possible penalty of one year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.

He remains released on bail.

A man from New Brunswick was indicted for attempting to re-enter this country after being deported after being convicted on an aggravated felony. David Joseph Nelson, 56, also is charged with making a false statement to border patrol officials.

According to the indictment, Nelson was found in Washington County on or about Oct. 24, and it was discovered he had not obtained the consent of the attorney general for reapplication for admission to the United States.

The indictment also charges Nelson with falsely telling a customs agent that he had never been refused admission to this country, when he was refused entry into the United States on Sept. 15, 1995.

If convicted, Nelson faces a maximum possible penalty of two years in prison on the illegal re-entry count and five years in prison on the false-statement count. He also faces the possibility of thousands of dollars in fines. Nelson is free on bail.