Car burglarized at Odlin Road site

BANGOR – A burglar smashed through the passenger-side window of a 1994 Ford Taurus on Tuesday night at an Odlin Road parking lot and made off with a handbag belonging to an 18-year-old Bangor woman.

The car reportedly had approximately $300 damage. It was parked at Movie City Cinemas, which shares a parking area at 268 Odlin Road with Miami North, a pool hall and lounge. In the process of breaking through the window, the thief also removed the door lock, according to Bangor police Detective Keith Mercier.

The victim, Erin Economy, claims to have lost a purse, which she had placed on the floor of the passenger side of the vehicle before going inside. When she came out, she noticed that her car had been vandalized and that her purse was missing.

The purse was said to contain a Nokia cell phone with a stated value of $60, approximately $10 cash, a Maine driver’s license, a New Hampshire student identification and a checkbook from a New Hampshire bank.

There were no known witnesses to the incident, and Mercier said he found no trace of the stolen items when he searched the parking lot and nearby trash containers.

A man was arrested at Pizza Oven restaurant in Bangor Tuesday night after earlier brandishing what looked like a .45-caliber automatic handgun outside Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street. The suspect had been a customer at Miller’s, where he was reported to be drunken and obnoxious. He was asked to leave after he became upset for being refused any more to drink.

Joseph Clarke, 51, of 611 Main Road, Hampden, initially refused to leave the restaurant when asked, but finally did, according to Bangor Officer Paul Colley.

A witness who saw Clarke outside the restaurant said she overheard Clarke say, “I think I am drunk. What do you think they’d do if they knew I had this?” and removed the gun from a plastic bag to show the woman.

The witness also said Clarke yelled that the weapon was only a BB gun, as he walked away toward the Pizza Oven restaurant, which is located just across from Miller’s parking lot, on Larkin Street.

Clarke was sitting at a table in Pizza Oven when Colley caught up with him. He told Clarke to show his hands and to lie prone on the floor. Colley said he then handcuffed Clarke. It became obvious to Colley that Clarke was drunk. He had two plastic bags on the table, one that contained a bottle of wine, and another that contained a “realistic looking,” chrome Daisy BB handgun and a pair of white socks. Also on the table was a cup, which Colley found to contain wine.

Colley said he was familiar with Clarke’s recent criminal activity and confirmed that Clarke had bail conditions not to possess or consume alcohol. Colley arrested Clarke and brought him to the Penobscot County Jail where he was charged with violation of bail.

Clarke was known to some employees at Miller’s Restaurant for doing construction work there in the past. Officer Paul Edwards and Detective Larry Ellis also responded to the report of the incident.

– Compiled by Alixandra

Williams of the NEWS staff