September 23, 2024
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2 Calais men charged with robbing woman

CALAIS – Two Calais men who over the weekend allegedly tried to rob a female relative of one of the men, appeared Tuesday in 4th District Court.

Harold Clark, 23, and Bradley McLean, 19, were charged with Class A robbery.

Around 3:25 p.m. Sunday, the woman called the Calais Police Department to report that her relative Harold Clark and McLean, who was described as a friend and who lived next door, had robbed her.

She told police that McLean had called earlier and had asked to borrow money.

When he arrived at the woman’s residence on Stillson Street, McLean asked her to step around to the side of the trailer.

As she was about to give McLean the money, Clark either stepped from behind or out of a nearby shed, a court affidavit stated.

“Harold grabbed her money and as she tried to grab Harold, Brad pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the knee,” the affidavit said.

The men reportedly took $320 and fled on foot.

Police interviewed several people in the trailer. A friend confirmed that McLean had called and that the woman had met him outside.

The woman “began screaming at Harold and crying,” the friend stated in the affidavit. “She then came inside and said what happened outside.”

The woman’s mother said she was in bed when she heard her daughter yelling. The woman “told her what happened and she went to the door to yell at Harold, but he didn’t come back,” the affidavit said.

Calais Police Chief Michael Milburn said Tuesday that three hours after the incident police received information in a telephone call that Clark and McLean were walking toward the police station. He said they planned to turn themselves in.

“We got a call that they were walking on North Street on their way to the police station, and the officer went up and arrested them,” he said.

McLean admitted to police that he had called the relative to ask to borrow money but said when he arrived at the trailer, Clark was arguing with his relative. “He saw Harold grab a pill bottle from [the woman’s] hands and run from the trailer,” the affidavit said. “He said he left with Harold and then hung out for a couple of hours until he called his mother, who told him the police wanted to talk to him.”

Clark, who gave police conflicting statements, admitted he and his relative had been arguing Sunday morning.

“He was upset that she is a drug addict and using her money for that purpose,” the affidavit said. “He decided to take her pills so she had to stop using.”

He admitted that he grabbed the pills and ran off. He later said he threw the pills into some tall grass. “He said this all happened in the trailer,” the affidavit said. “When pressed about whether these events happened inside or outside, Harold said it was all inside, but he had tried to lure her outside.”

Clark also told police that he asked McLean to call his relative to show him where she kept her pills, but McLean said he was alone when he called Wilson to borrow the money.

According to the affidavit, Clark had a prescription pill bottle with his relative’s name on it dated Oct. 11, 2004. The woman “said she had such a prescription for suboxone (similar to methadone) and she took two pills under her tongue daily; she had no idea how her [relative] had an old empty pill bottle of hers,” the affidavit said.

McLean’s bail was set at $5,000 unsecured, while Clark’s was at $5,000 single surety or $350 cash.

If convicted, McLean and Clark could face up to 30 years in prison.

First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh explained after the appearance Tuesday that robbery carried a stiffer penalty because it involved an assault. ” It’s a theft where either to get the property or keep it once gained, the actor uses a degree of physical force,” he said.

Correction: This article ran on page B3 in the Final edition.

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