PORTLAND – A broadcaster-turned-wedding disc jockey left dozens of wedding parties in the lurch when he vanished a couple of weeks ago. The next time he surfaced was on the news following his arrest for robbing two convenience stores.

Friends expressed astonishment by the turn of events for the mild-mannered radio announcer and TV weatherman who built a flourishing business as a disc jockey for weddings.

Bill Rowell, known to audiences as Bill Thomas, told police following his arrest for robberies at the Big Apple store in Portland and at a Stop and Shop in Westbrook that “part of the motivation for the robberies was a drug problem,” Deputy Chief Bill Ridge said Wednesday.

Rowell, 49, was arrested Sunday evening in a drugstore parking lot in Westbrook after police linked robberies to him and called him on his cell phone to convince him to surrender as he drove around Greater Portland in a minivan.

He remained Wednesday at the Cumberland County Jail, where he was held on $25,000 cash bail, following a court appearance the day before.

Friends and colleagues in the DJ industry said the first indication that something was amiss came only a few weeks ago.

“He did a wedding June ninth, but after that he went into hiding,” said Dave Dionne of Lewiston, a former radio announcer who now works in the insurance business but has a sideline as a wedding DJ. “That was his last appearance. I don’t know anyone who was able to get through to him after that.”

Another DJ, Jim Casey of Windham, said Rowell called to say his son had died in Arizona and he needed someone to fill in for him at a May 18 wedding in Portland. Casey agreed to take the job but became frustrated when Rowell never paid him and then ducked out of sight.

Casey, who said as many as three dozen brides and grooms and other clients were left without a DJ, was in the courtroom during Rowell’s initial appearance.

“He told the judge he had a drug issue, and the drug was crack cocaine,” Casey said.

Rowell’s arrest spurred concern from brides and grooms who had reserved his services at their weddings and feared they would be left without music and lose deposits or, in some cases, full payments. The Web site for his company, New England Wedding DJs, lists a minimum rate of $850 for a four-hour service, with a deposit of 50 percent required in advance.

Jim Ciampi of Cityside Events, a Portland company that worked with Rowell on wedding packages, said the cancellations cost him $2,400 in deposits and forced him to scramble to line up DJ replacements.

Ciampi said he never had any problems with Rowell, who won praise from brides and grooms for his work as a disc jockey.

“Flags went up for me a couple of weeks ago because he seemed to be kind of pressed for money,” Ciampi said, recalling how Rowell started to exhibit bizarre behavior by saying he needed his payments right away.