BANGOR, Maine — A local man arrested Monday for felony criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and assault says he was falsely accused, but the two people he fought with and eyewitnesses say he was the aggressor, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Tuesday.
Christopher Cole, 23, was riding his bike on Oak Street around 11:15 a.m. when he met up with two men. Cole told police that while he was riding by, one threatened physical violence and pulled a knife out, the sergeant said.
The men he encountered, however, “said he jumped off the bike and wanted to fight,” Edwards said. The verbal fight turned physical when Cole pulled out a large knife, the two men told police.
“That is when the shoving and fighting started,” the sergeant said.
People driving by on Oak Street reported the fight to police and said one person had a knife.
Officer Jason Stuart, assisted by Officers Brian Smith and Jamie Fanning, went to the scene and found Cole with a large combat knife in a sheath, Edwards said.
In addition to Cole and the two men, police also interviewed two people who were driving by at the time of the assault and both said Cole was the aggressor, the sergeant said.
The report did not indicate whether Cole knew the two men he encountered.
He was charged with felony criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, assault and violating his bail conditions.
Cole was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center before his trip to Penobscot County Jail. While at the hospital he yelled that “he got wrongly arrested and wrongly accused,” Edwards said.
Cole was convicted of assault in September 2010 and of domestic violence assault in January 2010, according to Bangor Daily News archives.
He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000 if convicted of felony criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.
Cole remained in jail on Tuesday, a jail official said.
Chris use your words, not your knife. Looks to me like this is your 3rd strike….
….
Violating bail conditions…Gee, that NEVER happens in this state…Do judges actually have access to news??????
Here’s a thought…fine whoever set or granted bail $50 every time the person to whom they set or granted bail violates their bail conditions.
He Chris….five years aint bad , could have been 60 months.
But he’s just a kid who is misunderstood. We need to nurture him back to a successful member of society…(rolls eyes)
Yes, we should exterminate him and anyone that disagrees with your perspective. You, of course, can tell that he was definetely in the wrong.
I can tell you that he could have been legally shot when he pulled a knife, had one of the people he attacked been armed.
After reading that comment I suppose he is related to you.
How many of these people that attack others with weapons are we going to try to “turn their lives around” before we realize that some people just don’t want to be helped?
The point I was trying to make in reply to Todd Foster is that he presumed that the knife weilder is ‘just….. misunderstood’ and we should ‘nurture him back to a successful member of society…(rolls eyes)’. Well, why shouldn’t we try to give this guy a hand up? What other option do we have? Exterminate him? Lock him away and then complain that we must pay for another ‘loser’ who is ‘freeloading’, getting 3 squares, watching Oprah all day? I am presuming that some of you who feel this way are christians. Jesus came for just such as him, didn’t he? How many of you making comments have no solution at all other than anger? We have no other recourse than having to deal wtih him by giving him a hand up. keek669, OSOKRecon, Todd Foster, what are your solutions?
I don’t have any solutions at the moment, but all these “solutions” that we have had for the last 20 some years of “it’s OK, we will help, and help, and help, and help, and help….” is not working either!
Todd, I respectfully disagree. You are posting a blanket statement. We have, in fact, as a society, helped many and there are, in fact, success stories. Being compassionate is a solution that works better than any other.
I suppose we can agree to disagree. Have a nice day. :-)
Well here is what someone like you does not want to hear.
I (and many others) have absolutely no compassion, or will, to help these people. Considering the rate of armed robberies, home invasions, armed assaults, and drug crimes in this area now, and considering that rehab is more often than not the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th attempt at our expense, your first priority should be to defend yourself and your family. I would rather pay double what rehab costs and send them to prison again and again. If rehab is to be applied it should be AFTER prison, not instead of.
These people know very well what they are doing, and what the consequences may be. They are taking a chance that they can intimidate people into cowering to their demands, and not get caught.
People like you seem to have the mindset that “it won’t happen to me”. I would like to see what your attitude would be like if this guy stuck a knife in your son, daughter, or spouse. I don’t think rehab would be at the top of your list.
In short…I have no problem what so ever with extermination of people like this. It could only improve the gene pool in this area.
NATURAL SELECTION!!!!
I agree, all we do is nurture and coddle….
Obviously not riding his Schwinn on his way to his lucrative job and a bright future…..
Hey, I ride my Trek to a lucrative job and hopefully a bright future…
What is a “Trek”?
Actually I know lots of people that have jobs that take their bike. Since they live within a couple miles of work and it’s cheaper than owning a vehicle. It’s a stereotype that people that walk or ride bikes are poor or immature.
Hank Williams was on his tandom axle bicycle.. Had 2 cord of wood in the bed… He was saving money on gas because the rail system isnt good..
Never trust anyone on a bike… spandex wearers are allways carrying…
I guess I have a bit more respect for biker dudes.
The only witness was a driver by.. So who knows what happened leading up to what they saw … There is a show on nat geo that test your brain where some one comits a crime and u have to say what u saw and help in the investagation and every one was mostly wrong about what the person looked like or what happened.. sometimes things happen so quick a person protecting them selves could look like aggressor . I’m just saying Bangor sucks and people Need to mind there own business and maybe we wouldn’t be in debt if everyone worried about them selfs.. I would have just drove by . I don’t want to be involved in that stuff have my own life … Dam cell phones criminals can’t win any more
Riding a bike at age 23 = fail. Riding a bike in freezing temperatures = fail. Picking a fight with 2 guys = fail. This guy is a failure.
I’m not sure who to believe in this story. Because there are lots of times I’ve been in Bangor when people were trying to instigate a fight with me simply for passing by them. I keep on going. Also people in this area have been known to turn on individuals and bare false witness. You can easily find a whole group of people willing to lie for each other. So I don’t trust eye witness testimony in this area. But who knows in this case what really happened.