Poland man faces kidnapping charge Accused allegedly sought money owed him

FALMOUTH – A contractor who allegedly kidnapped a man from his home in Scarborough after demanding money he claimed was owed to him was arrested Tuesday in the parking lot of People’s Heritage Bank.

Joseph Loughery, 43, of Poland showed up at the home of Roger Smith at 7:10 a.m. as Smith was preparing to leave for work and demanded payment for a remodeling project Loughery had worked on a year ago, said Falmouth Police Chief Ed Tolan.

Loughery pulled out a 9 mm handgun, telling Smith, “I’ve got two bullets in this – one for you and one for your wife,” and saying he would kill them both if Smith didn’t pay, Tolan said.

After Smith told Loughery he would take him to his bank to get the money, they got into Smith’s car and drove off, the chief said.

Because the bank did not open until 9 a.m., they rode around the area and then parked in a garage near Smith’s workplace in Portland’s Old Port.

Arriving at the bank when it opened, Loughery again pulled the gun from a briefcase and reiterated his threat, Tolan said. The briefcase also contained two sets of handcuffs, the chief said.

While Loughery waited in the parking lot, Smith, 55, went into the bank and told a teller that he had been abducted and that the kidnapper was in the parking lot with a gun, Tolan said.

A bank official called police, who arrested Loughery. The suspect, who offered no resistance, was charged with kidnapping, terrorizing, criminal threatening, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and violation of probation.

Loughery, who does business as Joe the Carpenter, was transported to the Cumberland County Jail. He told police that Smith owed him $7,000.

Smith told Tolan that he refused to pay Loughery because his carpentry work was substandard and an inspector concluded that it did not meet code requirements.

Smith was shaken by the incident, Tolan said, but his wife was unaware that anything was amiss. “She was upstairs and hadn’t heard a thing,” he said.