Pittsfield man charged in latest breach of order Estranged wife reported 20 violations of harassment

PITTSFIELD – A local man who has been investigated for nearly 20 alleged violations of a protection from harassment and abuse order and recently was released after serving a jail term for the violations was charged again Tuesday morning for another breach of the order and conditions of his probation.

Officer Marty Cochran summoned Eugene “Shorty” Leach, 42, of Corinna for contacting his estranged wife, a resident of Elm Street in Pittsfield. Although police have found Leach hiding in her home and in bushes outside her window previously, this time he was charged after telephoning her. In the past, said police, Leach has called the victim from jail.

When last arrested by Pittsfield police in August, his ride in a cruiser to the Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan took on dramatic urgency when he suffered a heart attack and was rushed by the arresting officer to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.

During that arrest, Leach was charged with two violations of the protection order.

In September 2002, Leach pleaded guilty in Skowhegan District Court to four charges of violating a protection order after he admitted he attempted to call and visit his estranged wife three times in one day after he had been released from jail on the same charges. He also admitted to contacting her a fourth time the next morning.

Leach is scheduled to appear in Skowhegan District Court on Jan. 14.