February 19, 2025
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Presque Isle police won’t charge man in Mechanic Street standoff

PRESQUE ISLE – The Presque Isle Police Department will not press charges against a 66-year-old Mechanic Street man who was taken to a local hospital for evaluation Friday after a brief standoff with police.

Police Chief Naldo Gagnon said officers could have charged the man, whose name is not being released, with criminal threatening, but he said officers doubted they could get a criminal conviction for the Class D misdemeanor.

“We also are satisfied that this individual is getting the help he needs,” the chief said Monday afternoon.

A person can be found guilty of criminal threatening if he intentionally or knowingly places another person in fear of imminent bodily injury.

The May 16 incident began just after 1 p.m. when the man called 911 and requested an ambulance.

When crews from Crown Ambulance responded, the man refused to come to the door. While first responders were trying to coax him out of the home for treatment, they looked through a window in the door and saw the man pick up what they believed to be a handgun.

Presque Isle police Officer Jeff Mechalko tried to contact the caller by cell phone, but the man refused to pick up. He also removed a bystander from a nearby home for safety.

Mechalko continued to try to talk the man into leaving his house, using the loudspeaker on his police cruiser.

Police barricaded Mechanic Street, and the Maine State Police Tactical Team was called to the home.

Mechalko persuaded the man to come out of the home approximately an hour later.

The man then agreed to go to The Aroostook Medical Center for an evaluation.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun.


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