Calais man charged in skate park assault

CALAIS – A 22-year-old Calais man was charged with assault after he allegedly struck a 48-year-old woman in the chest with a skateboard last weekend, according to police. David Sivret was arrested after the incident early Sunday morning.

Around 12:30 a.m., Sivret and the victim were at the Calais skate park on Calais Avenue when he allegedly assaulted her.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Calais Regional Hospital by Downeast EMS, police said. She was no longer at the hospital on Monday, according to a hospital spokesman.

Bail for Sivret was set at $250. He is expected to appear in 4th District Court in Calais in October.

Sgt. David Randall of the Calais Police Department said Monday he was unsure of the relationship between Sivret and the victim.

Although the incident took place at the skate park, Randall said it was not related to other incidents there that police investigated in May.

“It appears that Mr. Sivret came to the skate park and met … this person,” Randall said. “It doesn’t look like he was there to be skating. It doesn’t look like any of the kids at the park were involved.”

Asked if the two went there to meet, Randall said, “She was there for another reason.”

Randall said he didn’t want people to “jump the gun” and believe the incident was related to allegations earlier this year of inappropriate behavior on the part of young people at the skate park.

In May, city officials received numerous complaints from nearby landowners about broken windows, grass fires behind buildings, speeding cars on Calais Avenue and harassment of older residents.

Several residents complained that some of the youngsters had been rude and vulgar toward them.

One city official related he was walking in the area of the skateboard park in May and was confronted by several youths and harassed. There have been no similar complaints recently, Randall said.

In other police news, on Friday, Ricky Alexander, 42, of Evansville, Ind., was arrested on Main Street and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants.

Raymond Korasadowicz, 22, of Calais was arrested on the same day and also charged with OUI.

Tracey Lindsay, 26, of Leverville, New Brunswick, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

On Sunday, Ross Cookson, 41, of Calais was charged with OUI.

Although the OUI and disorderly conduct incidents happened on International Festival weekend, Randall said that unlike years past, police handled fewer complaints over the weekend.

“I think the alcohol consumption might not have been as big an issue as it has been in the past years,” he said.

The sergeant said another thing that helped this year was that Hightower Steakhouse on Main Street had a police officer at its beer tent, “which I think might have helped the situation as well,” the sergeant said.

The owners paid for the officer’s time there.