Accused beehive vandal winds up in jail again Ellsworth man, 18, arrested after truck accident

ELLSWORTH – A local man accused of smashing up several thousand dollars’ worth of beehives this spring in Hancock is back in jail, this time on a charge of driving to endanger, according to officials.

Craig Golden, 18, was ordered in June to stay at his mother’s home in Surry when he appeared in Ellsworth District Court on the beehive charges. On July 1, he began serving a 30-day sentence at the Hancock County Jail for biting an Ellsworth police officer last summer.

Golden must have been out of jail for a day or two when he was driving his truck – the same one allegedly used to smash up the beehives – and hit another vehicle on Route 172, Hancock County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Larson said Friday.

Golden intentionally squealed his tires when he accelerated while turning off North Bend Road in Surry onto the state highway, Larson said. Also, by driving unsupervised, Golden violated the conditions of his release, the prosecutor said.

“He was not supposed to be away from the house without his mother, his stepfather or his father,” Larson said. After the wreck, Golden tried unsuccessfully to convince the driver of the other vehicle not to contact police, according to the prosecutor.

Golden has been charged with violating the conditions of his release and with driving to endanger, Larson said.

“He waived [another detention hearing] and is currently back in Hancock County Jail,” Larson said.

The suspected vandal lost control of his Chevrolet truck on Aug. 2 as he sped onto Route 172 in the Surry village, Trooper Tom Pickering of the Maine State Police said Friday. Golden overcorrected the truck as he veered onto the right shoulder and then crossed back over the highway, hitting a truck headed southbound in the opposite lane, Pickering said.

Neither driver was injured in the low-speed accident, he said, but each truck had an estimated $2,000 damage.

Golden was arrested in May after state police found a pocket Bible with his first name on the cover at Merrill Blueberry Farms in a field where roughly 50 beehives, worth $5,400, had been destroyed. State police said they believe the Bible fell out of Golden’s truck as he drove it into the beehives, which are used to help pollinate the blueberries. He since has been charged with witness tampering and aggravated criminal mischief in connection with the beehive case.

Last month, Golden served a 30-day sentence for assaulting an Ellsworth police officer in July 2001. Golden had reportedly assaulted someone at a Hancock Street home when he fled and was chased by police on the roof of the Grand Auditorium. Golden was charged with assaulting a police officer and possession of alcohol by consumption after he bit a police officer’s hand on the roof of the Main Street theater.

Larson said Friday he recently received a diagnostic evaluation of Golden from the state forensic service and is waiting to find out when Golden’s next hearing in Ellsworth District Court will be. Larson said he is hoping to try Golden, who allegedly destroyed the beehives roughly one month before his 18th birthday, as an adult.