Man accused in kiosk scam to stand trial

ELLSWORTH – A jury was seated Monday in the trial of Allen Barber, the Kennebunk resident charged with theft after he allegedly used an advertising scam to trick several Hancock County businesses out of approximately $10,000.

The jury of 10 women and three men, with one alternate, is expected to begin hearing testimony today in Hancock County Superior Court. Justice Andrew Mead will preside over the trial.

Barber, 40, is charged with theft by deception for allegedly taking approximately $10,000 from several county businesses as payment for advertising space on a kiosk he was to erect at a supermarket in Bar Harbor.

Numerous businesspeople from the Bar Harbor, Ellsworth and Bucksport areas, as well as police officials, are expected to testify.

Police in several county communities received complaints about Barber a year ago after he disappeared and the promised kiosk was never built.

Barber was arrested in Minnesota in January during a traffic stop and was extradited to Maine. He has been held at the Hancock County Jail since then awaiting trial.

Prior to the start of the trial, Justice Mead will rule on a suppression motion from defense attorney Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth.

Toothaker has claimed that the traffic stop in Minnesota during which Barber was apprehended was illegal and has filed the motion to suppress evidence.