Bangor police arrested a 44-year-old man this week, four days after he allegedly forced his way out of a Bangor Mall store in an attempt to steal clothing.

Michael Garland had been wanted for his efforts in taking clothing from the J.C. Penney store Friday evening. He fled the store with employees tracking, but eventually eluded police and disappeared after last being seen near Shop ‘n Save.

Police officers searched elsewhere for Garland, including his more recent address on Hammond Street, only to learn that he no longer lived there and the current resident had no connection with Garland.

But Tuesday afternoon, Garland was a passenger in a silver pickup truck that Bangor police Officer Shawn Green stopped for having a brake light out. Green recognized Garland from previous dealings with the man and arrested him, charging him with robbery and theft, according to the police report.

Garland apparently had been well known to the store employees, who on Friday had told investigating Officer Dan Herrick that they recognized Garland from previous dealings in their store on the closed-circuit television monitors. Confronted with an armful of clothing, Garland tried to force his way past security and a struggle ensued, according to the police report.

During the struggle, Garland reached into his back pocket and made a statement that led security officers to believe he was armed. They backed off and let him go, although they kept tabs on him, providing police with updates by radio on his whereabouts.

Garland reportedly dropped the clothes he attempted to steal in the mall. Authorities recovered the clothing as well as a pair of eyeglasses that apparently belonged to him.

It was deja vu for one Winterport man, who was charged twice in the same day for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

But those weren’t the only charges facing Timothy Selfridge, 22, who also was arrested on a warrant issued after he failed to pay a fine for a previous conviction for OAS.

Bangor police Officer James Hassard first encountered Selfridge just after 1 a.m. Tuesday on Parkview Avenue, where he had summoned him on charges of OAS, possession of a usable amount of marijuana, and a traffic violation of failure to provide evidence of insurance. At the time, the warrant didn’t show up on a computer check of Selfridge, according to the police report.

That came later Tuesday night. Hassard went looking for Selfridge, but the man’s maroon pickup wasn’t on Parkview Avenue, where it had been before. At about 10 p.m., Hassard and Officer Steve Jordan spotted the pickup by the Sea Dog Brewing Co. Selfridge was behind the wheel of the truck as it headed toward Washington Street.

The officers stopped Selfridge on Harlow Street by City Hall and Hassard arrested him. The officers searched the pickup truck but found they had more luck when the truck was searched by Officer James Libby and K-9 Nerry. The police dog indicated something suspect near the passenger-side door, and Hassard found a small glass jar that Hassard reported contained marijuana residue.

Hassard summoned Selfridge on charges of OAS, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a suspended license, and a traffic infraction of failure to provide evidence of insurance.

A bucket loader clearing off snow at the University of Maine sheared off part of a natural gas pipe Wednesday evening, causing a gas leak that was contained in about 10 minutes.

The pipe runs underground but surfaced near a storage building for the campus library, although the pipe had yet to be connected to the storage facility, reported Capt. David Martin of the Orono Fire Department. A laboratory building about 100 feet away was empty at the time of the leak, although wind blowing toward the storage building prevented the gas from reaching the lab.

At the time of the leak, Orono rescue personnel were busy responding to that report, students caught in an elevator in York Hall on the UM campus, and with town paramedics responding to a medical call.

A father’s concern over the safety of his daughter prompted an investigation by police in Old Town and led to the arrest of the girl’s 20-year-old boyfriend, who now faces a domestic assault charge.

The father told police that his daughter had arrived home much later than she had promised Friday night and that when she did, he found out that her boyfriend had assaulted her, including preventing her from leaving his car while they were driving to his home.

The girl told Officer Chris Hashey that she and boyfriend Corey Morin, 20, had argued while stopped at a red light at Center and North Main streets. She decided to get out. Morin allegedly wouldn’t have it and grabbed her left arm and her hair and prevented her from getting out, according to the report. He then drove from the intersection to his home in Milford with the car door still open.

The girl also told Hashey that Morin put his hands around her throat several times and spit on her. When her dad called and said he would come pick her up, Morin became angry and insisted that she leave with him, according to the report. Scared, she did as Morin said, and the two drove around for about an hour before he dropped her off at home.

There had been other instances of anger, including a couple of days earlier when Morin is reported to have punched out a window in the car during an argument in a driveway.

At the request of Hashey, Trooper Seth Edwards arrested Morin in Milford on the domestic assault charge. Morin is scheduled to appear in Bangor District Court on April 2.

An Old Town police officer used pepper spray to help subdue an intoxicated woman who was loud and belligerent and refused to leave a South Main Street home early Sunday morning.

Sgt. Michael Hashey was called to the home about 3 a.m. to remove the woman and found 20-year-old Melinda Hamel pounding on the outside walls and doors, yelling extremely loudly, according to the police report.

Hashey got her attention, but reported that despite repeated warnings to quiet down and leave, Hamel continued as she had been, pounding on the building and yelling while standing on the porch. Placing a handcuff on her right wrist was easy, Hashey reported, but not so with the left hand. Hamel began to resist, including by kicking Hashey in the leg as the two struggled in the small enclosed porch.

A dose of pepper spray in the eyes curtailed much of Hamel’s fighting spirit, enough for Hashey to finish handcuffing her.

The people who lived in the home told Hashey that they didn’t want her in their home in her condition and that she had refused to take a cab ride home that had been offered her.

Hashey charged Hamel with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and refusing to submit to arrest.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Doug Kesseli