Woman unknowingly spends counterfeit $50 bill

A woman unknowingly used a $50 bill Saturday that the store manager at Deb in the Bangor Mall suspected was counterfeit.

Deb’s manager called police after she used a special marker that indicated the bill was a fake. Police took the bill into evidence and sent it to Portland for evaluation by the U.S. Secret Service office there.

The North Brooklin woman told police she received the $50 bill when she recently cashed a check at Union Trust Bank in Blue Hill.

The woman was not charged, and she told police she would contact the bank today.

A Bangor man received a strange wake-up call Sunday morning from police saying that his car was on fire.

Henry Norwood, 72, of French Street told police his car was parked in front of his home when he got the call at 6:30 a.m. However, when Norwood looked out his window, the car was gone.

Police received a call that morning reporting Norwood’s 1988 Chevy Nova was on fire on Somerset Street near Broadway.

Norwood said his daughter had moved the car on Saturday from a parking lot to a space in front of the residence. He told police it was possible she left the keys in the car.

According to the police report by Officer Steve Pelletier, the fire is considered suspicious, but no suspects were identified Sunday.

Fire officials who responded believed the fire originated in the front passenger side and caused approximately $1,000 in damage, Pelletier’s report said.

A Brewer man was arrested for the second time in two months for reportedly assaulting his girlfriend at her apartment.

Brewer police received a call at about 2 a.m. Saturday. A man walking home from work heard screaming and fighting at the corner of Black and Wilson streets and called police.

Police said Dan McGough, 23, was “very intoxicated” when he began arguing with his girlfriend. According to police, McGough shoved her into a television. When she picked up a crutch to defend herself, he took it from her and beat her with it.

The man who called police stayed with the victim until police arrived. She was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and treated for a shoulder injury, police said.

McGough was taken to Penobscot County Jail where he was charged with assault. Police said they had been to the residence several times before on similar complaints, including about two months ago when McGough was arrested on an assault charge.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Eric Russell