BANGOR, Maine — An employee at Tim Hortons coffee shop on Main Street called police at around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday to report “a male in the bathroom passed out,” Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Wednesday.
Police found William G. Jennison Jr., 58, who is listed as a Bangor-area transient, in the bathroom and arrested him for violating his bail conditions, which bar him from drinking alcohol, the sergeant said.
Jennison also was arrested and charged earlier this month after employees at Hollywood Slots Hotel & Raceway reported he was passed out at their facility at around 8 p.m. Feb. 3, Edwards said.
They reported an “intoxicated male sleeping in the main lobby,” the sergeant said. “When the cops got there, he ran to a bathroom and locked himself in” and was screaming and causing a disturbance.
He was charged with disorderly conduct for the Feb. 3 incident, Edwards said.
Jennison has convictions for criminal trespassing and for violating his conditions of release, as well as seven convictions for theft by unauthorized taking in the last five years, according to court listings printed in the Bangor Daily News.
Bangor took Jennison to Penobscot County Jail on Tuesday and he remained there on Wednesday morning, a jail official said. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)
Wow, the stories just keep coming…..I believe it’s time for such articles as these to list the benefits that folks like this are getting from the state and/or federal govt…….If I were a betting person, I would wager that many, if not the majority these folks who are daily in the court news and police beat sections of the news are partakers of taxpayer funded programs to the utmost of benefit…..if such info was shown, I again would wager a bet, that a lot of taxpayers funding said welfare and criticizing any attempts to re-form theses programs, may be taking a different look at such “benefits” and attempts to stop the abuse……..Crazy…..
Your suggestion would violate confidentiality laws. Publicly stigmatizing the less fortunate among us is akin to the pillories of the 1700’s.
I am fully aware of HIPAA and what is protected against disclosure…..and these folks that are seen in the news daily because of their criminal choices and behaviors lack the personal responsibility to benefit from the systems supported by the taxpayers….self stigmatization is what I see here and nothing as you claim even related to the devices used in times past…..when we see people speaking out against any cuts and being critical of any plans to reform welfare, we are shown pics of the elderly, children, handicapped and mentally challenged folks who deserve such help…..but, the bleeding hearts are never shown the other side of the coin where the abuse and over demand on the system that is being caused by folks that are in my opinion un-deserving of such benefit…..Craziness…….
Yes, Pab, this guy’s got it made! He’s sooo lucky. Don’t you just envy him?
Don’t envy him nor any of the other less fortunate criminals that are flooding the news as of late…..and I am well aware of the fact that this very well could have been my life if I had made different choices thru the years…..but I chose to work and be a responsible and productive member of society and try to obey the laws of society rather that steal and take from others…..the point is, our state and federal monies are running out and it seems that when-ever someone tries to address various budgets and spendings, the comments come that we can’t throw people out on the streets and these people are all deserving of the help they are getting…..and, IMHO, there is a segment of those who are getting such help who are not deserving of such….
Yes, you are thinking like our governor and other tea party members. Basically what you’re saying is throw these folks away and let em starve if they don’t shape up. The poor and the unfortunate are a reality. I’m so glad that you are a self made individual who prides himself on being so much better off than the lowest dregs of our society. I would suggest you try compassion instead of puffing out your chest and feeling superior to a poor drunkard who has nothing. It’s our duty to lend a hand. There are vastly more poor folk on this planet than those who have. “There but for fortune go you.”
He does have a point….
Sometimes people make life more difficult than necessary…..point is as I believe you understand, nothing wrong with needing a handout or help along sometimes, and most people I know are willing to help others at times and have, but this thought of life-long welfare and living off the work off others is craziness…..
Tell Jesus it’s craziness
to Bad96 How many pay check would you have to loose to be in his shoes ? Mabe you should think about that before you shoot your mouth off,It could be you!
Jesus already knows whats going on here dont worry
You assume way too much and your characterization of me personally from a few sentences in a comment is truly unnecessary and lacks a civility that deserves no further response…..
I agree it’s your duty. Let him move in with you! Set the example!
I, in fact, have taken in a handful of homeless folks. Some have worked out, others haven’t. Who can say what kindness will accomplish?
Now now….this guy just woke up one day an alcoholic. It isn’t his fault, “addiction” just happened to him. We should all just go build a house for him and support him for the rest of his life.
Easy on your assumptions, you will get the wrath of others here…..
With so many convictions why is this man still on the street?
He is on the street because he has nowhere to go. He is damaged. He is lonely. He is broken. There are folks on this blog who do not want to hear that there are lots of people like this man. (He may well be a veteran!) These folks who don’t want to hear do not want to spend their tax dollars dealing with the broken of this earth. They would rather spend their taxes on killing over 200,000 iraquis instead of helping some homeless, broken americans. We spent over 1.5 trillion…TRILLION! killing iraquis yet we can’t help our poor for a whole lot less.
well said
There are already homeless shelters in Bangor, and when they are full, they do have other places they can send people at times (churches etc…). If he ‘wanted’ help all he has to do is ask – there is plenty out there to be found; unfortunately, not everyone wants help and you can not force someone with addiction.
Most people are not wanting to ignore this guy, or wishing him ill will. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say what we are upset about is that money is going to helping people who do not want it and or keep choosing the same lifestyle over and over again WHILE there are people who are doing everything ‘right’ (obeying laws, working, etc..) that are struggling and they can’t get help.
I’ve told this one story a lot and I feel that it sums up some, not all, of the wasted money and why people are uspet. When I was about 11, my brother and I were given some money by my grandfather for doing some chores; he told us that if we saved our money we could go to the fair with him the next week (he didn’t have a lot of money). My brother went out and bought some toys etc… I saved my money because I really wanted to go to the fair with my grandfather. Come fair time, my brother whining that he couldn’t go because he didn’t have any money, my grandmother forced me to split my money with him so he could go. Moral of story, I had enough money to go to the fair and but not enough to do anything. My brother got some nice new toys, and got a trip to the fair. So my brother made a bad choice, never learned the consequences of it and I was the one who had to pay up. Years later, I had my brother calling me and asking me for money from time to time – I stopped when I realized that all I was doing was enabling him.
Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, we are humans, but when someone keeps getting handouts (especially without humbling themselves) they learn nothing of their mistakes.
There are consequences for your actions and your choices in life, but it doesn’t me you can’t switch to the better path at some point – it just usually means that you have to admitt fault in yourself and ask for help.
Addiction comes in many different forms and I believe that Mr. Jennison would not be perpetrating these crimes in a moment of sobriety but he must go back to the addiction that causes this behavior and seek help, until then we will keep reading about him in the Bangor police log.
He evidently chooses his addiction over anything else. Sad, but his choice. Luckily he seems only to be a hazard to himself.
In an ironic twist, I heard that the arresting officer was retiring at the end of his shift and this “transient” also happened to be his very first arrest as a Bangor Police Officer several years ago….true story!
Pillar of the community….
Get him a position on the city council…
If transient is a fancy word for bum, Bangor must becoming Bumgor
Have you ever struggled with addiction? Have you ever struggled with not having enough money to meet your basic needs? Have you ever needed compassion? If you ever find yourself walking in this man’s shoes, I hope you get more compassion than you give.
He just wants three hots and a cot!
Three shots and a cot…
Three shots and a pot….ty?
Like there’s a chance in Hell this guy could abide by bail conditions that require him not to drink…
nobody has solutions. very sad, i wish you the best william.. you were always kind to me. people are so cold until it happens to someone they care about.
Two times now, the police had to go into a bathroom and wake him up, The poor guy just does not like to sleep drunk, IN THE COLD, you did not have to take him to jail, just find a closed gas station and let him sleep it off in their bathroom! Just look at his picture, he needs a nap!
He just appears cold, tired and hungry…….
and drunk in a public place where we all go. Who wants to run into that in a public rest room…
The way you folks talk about another human being:
Story time
When I was very young I had a friend. When we were in the sixth grade together his mother died after a long painful fight with breast cancer. His father was a local attorney, and a former member for the City council in a city about as large as Bangor and Brewer together. He was well liked, and never tired of taking all us neighborhood children to see the Yankees play. They had a big white Colonial house where all the children had been welcome after school. My friend’s mother used to make chocolate chip cookies which she served warm with milk to any child who showed up with her son.
After his wife died, it really took the wind out of his sails. My friend enlisted in the Marines, and was sent to Vietnam, where he was killed by “friendly fire.” Years later, I found this man again, sleeping on the sidewalk in his own urine in a run down neighborhood with a high concentration of bars and adult entertainment establishments.
You folks have no idea, NOT A CLUE what William G. Jennison has faced in his life, and If I were less charitable, I would hope you become educated through experience…. BUT that wouldn’t help anyone would it?
to Bad96 How many pay check would you have to loose to be in his shoes ? Mabe you should think about that before you shoot your mouth off,It could be you!
This is really sad, this is the second or third time I have seen this man’s face in the news. This is why we need more services for the homeless. This man obviously needs alcohol treatment, but other than sleeping where he should not hasn’t done anything in my eyes to warrant jail time/ or be placed with criminals instead of getting treatment. Under the new mainecare cuts less and less services will be available for people like him, and it will force officers to put more people in jail. The chances for reoffending are high without treatment (several months not the 2-10 days we provide in the area). I dont see how this ultimately wont cost more money to continually keep housing addicts and people who have mental health problems in jail.