Contractor acquitted on kidnapping charge

PORTLAND – A jury returned a mixed verdict Monday in the trial of a contractor accused of kidnapping a customer at gunpoint over a disputed bill.

Jurors acquitted Joe Loughery of kidnapping when they returned to their deliberations in Cumberland County Superior Court after a weekend off. But the panel deadlocked on the remaining counts.

It will be up to the district attorney to decide whether to pursue another trial on counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

The case unfolded on Oct. 1, 2001, when Rodger Smith told a Falmouth bank teller he had been kidnapped at gunpoint.

Police quickly arrested Loughery, who had a 9 mm handgun and two pairs of handcuffs in his briefcase.

Jurors heard two wildly different versions of what actually happened on that day.

During his testimony, Smith said Loughery showed up at his door in Scarborough and pulled a gun from under his jacket after a yearlong dispute in which he had accused Loughery of shoddy work.

Smith said Loughery told him that he would shoot Smith in the knee and kill his wife, Mary, if he did not pay $7,800.

Loughery characterized the episode as a friendly one. He said the men were getting to know each other while driving around and ultimately stopping at McDonald’s for breakfast.