Man, 27, shook girlfriend, police say

Old Town police arrested a 27-year-old man after it was reported he lifted up his girlfriend by the shirt collar and shook her.

Police charged Aaron Glenn McKusick of Old Town with domestic assault following the incident at 669 Stillwater Ave. on Monday.

Someone from the apartment called the police station on the 911 emergency line about 1 p.m. but hung up, prompting a call back from a dispatcher and a visit by police. When the dispatcher called back, a woman who sounded like she was crying answered, but hung up again.

Officers Chris Hashey and Steven Boyd went to the apartment, where a 20-year-old woman initially would only admit that there had been an argument with her boyfriend over a school issue. She told Hashey there had been no physical contact.

But McKusick told Boyd that during the dispute he had grabbed his girlfriend. With this information, Hashey reinterviewed the woman and learned more.

She said that McKusick had become very angry that she had hidden one of his hats. Then, as she was sitting on the couch in the living room, McKusick grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her up. He shook her, according to the police report.

The tightness of the grip on her collar was choking her, the woman told Hashey. McKusick released his grip and she fell to the floor.

During his interview with her, Hashey had the woman pull the shirt down from her neck, revealing red marks all around her lower neck, according to the police report.

The woman said she initially called police but hung up and decided to call her parents instead. McKusick pulled the phone cord from the wall, although she was eventually able to plug it back in and call her parents, she told police.

According to the police report, McKusick admitted to having eight drinks earlier.

A Belfast man was summoned on a charge of negotiating a worthless instrument after it was reported that the $3,120 check he used as a down payment on a vehicle bounced.

Donald E. Westover, 55, who told police he doesn’t drive, made the down payment on Oct. 24 at Darling’s Bangor Ford, apparently helping to buy the vehicle for his girlfriend.

When Bangor police Officer Larry Morrill contacted Westover on Jan. 24, the Belfast man insisted that that morning he had purchased a money order from the Belfast post office for $3,200 to cover the bad check and was forwarding it to the dealership.

Morrill called the Belfast post office and was told by the postmaster that money orders can be made out to a maximum of $500, meaning Westover would have needed to purchase seven money orders to reach the $3,200.

Morrill called Westover and, giving him the benefit of the doubt, agreed to let Westover bring in the receipt from the $3,200 money order he claimed to have purchased. When no such paperwork showed up by Monday, Morrill called Westover again and Westover admitted that no such money order had been purchased.

Westover came into the Bangor Police Station on Tuesday and was summoned.

In separate incidents Tuesday, Bangor police arrested three men on warrants after stopping them on traffic violations.

Jeffrey Lindsey, 21, of Bangor was wanted on three warrants issued out of Hancock County – all three having to do with failure to pay fines – and was stopped on the Hogan Road about 10:25 p.m. after Officer Dan Herrick noticed that Lindsey’s right front headlight was out. Lindsey was arrested, while Herrick allowed Lindsey’s friends to come pick up Lindsey’s vehicle, wife and newborn child.

Shortly before midnight, Sgt. Thomas Reagan reported seeing Terence Hyson, 39, of Carmel trying to circumvent a red light on Main Street by driving through Dunkin’ Donuts and heading up toward First Street. Hyson’s car stopped in the middle of the travel lane on First Street, then pulled into a driveway, although Hyson later claimed he was going to his ex-girlfriend’s in Orono, Reagan reported.

Hyson also claimed his first name was Tom, but dropped the facade when Reagan recognized him as Terence, according to the police report. A computer check revealed that there were two warrants issued for Hyson’s arrest after he failed to appear in court on two assault charges.

Reagan said that Hyson was also charged with being a habitual offender in light of past infractions. The license plates on the car he was driving were registered to a Ford pickup truck.

William J. Rusbult, 20, of Winterport was wanted on two warrants for failure to pay fines when he was stopped on Main Street for driving a car with an expired inspection sticker. Police Sgt. Paul Kenison reported that Rusbult showed him a Colorado driver’s license, which turned out to be suspended, as was Rusbult’s license here in Maine. He was arrested on the warrants and charged with operating a motor vehicle after suspension.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Doug Kesseli