UMaine student faces charge of unlawful sexual contact

A University of Maine student was charged Saturday with felony-level unlawful sexual contact, UM Public Safety Director Noel March said Monday.

Joel Nguemba, 28, of Orono was arrested by UM police after he allegedly forced himself on an acquaintance who lives in the same housing complex that he does.

He was taken Saturday morning to Penobscot County Jail, where he later was released on $1,000 bail under the condition that he not return to University Park because he lives in close proximity to the alleged victim.

Nguemba allegedly knocked on the door of a woman at University Park, a UM-owned housing complex, about 2 a.m. Saturday. Nguemba was a friend of the alleged victim’s ex-boyfriend.

“He asks to come in and he is intoxicated,” March said.

After Nguemba allegedly forced himself on the woman, she was able to convince him to leave.

She then called a friend and UM police.

It is believed that the victim, who no longer is a UM student, will be moving out of the apartment complex in the next few days.

“[Nguemba] will be able to return to University Park as long as his alleged victim is no longer living there,” March said.

He is scheduled for a March 24 court date.

An employee of The Hair Revue in Bangor discovered a side door of the business forced open and a total of $2,500 missing when she arrived at work at 8:20 a.m. Monday.

A laptop and a large sum of money were missing from one of the workstations, the doorjamb had been shattered and splinters of wood lay on the floor, according to police reports.

The incident is assumed to have happened between 7 p.m. Saturday and 8:20 a.m. Monday, but there are no suspects in the case.

A Lincoln man wanted by police in connection with an assault early Sunday morning led police on a foot chase through Lincoln backyards before returning to the scene, where he was taken into custody.

Authorities received back-to-back calls shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday about a party on Lee Street. The last report was of a fight in progress.

Arriving at the apartment, Lincoln police Officer Ray Goodspeed was directed to a man walking down the street and wearing bluejeans and a black sweat shirt. The man was identified as Lance Springer, 19, who had allegedly assaulted the apartment owner during the party.

Springer went from walking to running and Goodspeed and Officer Nelson Grant followed the man’s footprints in the snow. They even went to Springer’s residence, only to discover others had given Springer a ride back to the Lee Street apartment where it all began.

That’s where Goodspeed took Springer into custody, charging him with assault, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and possession of liquor by a minor.

A Bath man found out too late that the car he was following aggressively and behind which he was revving his own engine was an unmarked Bangor police cruiser.

Nolan Morton, 21, who was wanted on a warrant, claimed he wasn’t trying to catch the detective’s attention in the parking lot of Eastern Maine Medical Center, even though Detective Joel Nadeau said Morton followed him extremely closely, revving his engine and flashing his hazard lights. This came after Nadeau said Morton nearly hit the unmarked police cruiser.

Nadeau arrested the Bath man on the warrant.

An Augusta man who was stopped for erratic driving in Old Town early Sunday morning was intoxicated and had some cocaine stashed in his car, according to police.

Old Town police Officer Mike Holmes reported seeing a car driven by Nikolo Ngie Nyada, 21, drifting on Main Street and then on Gilman Falls Avenue shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday.

After he was stopped, Nyada admitted to drinking several beers and performed poorly on field sobriety tests, according to the police.

Holmes arrested Nyada and took him to the police station, where Nyada took an Intoxilyzer test. At the same time, the car was searched by Old Town police Officer Lori Renzullo and Indian Island police Officer James Fearon with his police dog, Pumba.

The dog had indicated the presence of drugs in the vehicle and the search uncovered a plastic bag that contained a white powder that tested positive for cocaine, according to the police. Authorities charged Nyada with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants and with possession of a Schedule W drug, cocaine.

Compiled by BDN reporters Aimee Dolloff, Chelsey Ledue and Doug Kesseli