Officers charge Milbridge driver

CAMDEN – A routine stop for speeding gave police a few tense moments Sunday night, followed by a strange situation at the local post office.

Camden officers stopped a speeding vehicle on Elm Street at about 11:40 p.m. near the Camden-Rockport town line, according to Officer Jason Fowler. Fowler and Officer John Tooley approached the vehicle, in which were a male driver and two male passengers. The officers also observed in the vehicle three rifles and two 9 mm pistols sitting on the console.

The officers called for backup, and officers from the Rockland Police Department came to the scene. The officers seized the firearms, and eventually determined that the guns were licensed and the men were carrying them legally.

The driver of the car, Ryan W. Wood, 24, of Milbridge, was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, speeding and operating after suspension.

While the officers were searching the car, they received a call reporting that five or six people wearing ski masks were breaking into the Camden Post Office.

The Camden officers remained at the scene while the officers from Rockland went to the post office.

What they found, Fowler said, were students from the Maine Photographic Workshop in Rockport, wearing ski masks and taking photos.

The officers ordered them to leave the area, Fowler said. The students told the officers they had notified town officials Friday.

The officer said the Police Department should have been notified that they were going to be there.