BANGOR, Maine — An autopsy was performed Thursday on a man whose body was found Wednesday night in a Court Street apartment and whose death police are calling suspicious.
Neighbors of a woman who lives in the apartment building said she told them she had been raped by a man and had stabbed him, but Bangor police released few details about the case and by Thursday evening had made no arrests and still had not released the identity of the victim.
Police were called to 67 Court St. for a report of a disorderly person about 9:35 p.m. Wednesday and found a man in his mid-40s dead on the floor of an upstairs apartment, Sgt. Paul Edwards said Thursday.
The department’s Criminal Investigations Division was at the scene Thursday morning and is working with the state medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death of the man.
“It’s a suspicious death,” Edwards said.
Edwards, a blood splatter expert, said he is assisting in the case.
When asked if anyone was in custody, the sergeant said, “I can tell you there is no threat to the public.” Later, at the scene, Edwards added, “We know who the players are in this particular case.”
No one has been arrested, he said.
“The male has been identified and we are in the process of notifying his family,” Lt. Tim Reid, who leads the department’s detective division, said Thursday afternoon.
“I expect [his name] will be released tomorrow,” the lieutenant said.
An autopsy was conducted at the medical examiner’s officer in Augusta and “is pending further investigation,” Reid said late Thursday afternoon.
Gabriella Colson, who lives on the second floor of the three-story apartment building, said Thursday morning that she called police Wednesday night after hearing a woman, also a resident of the building, arguing in the hallway about some missing laundry.
“She said someone raped her and she stabbed him,” Colson said of the woman.
A 25-year-old male resident of the seven-unit apartment building, as well as a first-floor resident, Amanda Hamblen, also told the Bangor Daily News what they saw.
The man said he went out into his hallway Wednesday night when he heard arguing about the missing clothes and the woman told him she had to go because police were after her.
“I asked her why police were after her and she said, ‘I was raped and stabbed a guy,’” said the man, who asked not to be identified.
He said police arrived a short time later and went to the top floor to investigate.
Hamblen said she and a friend, who was missing some laundry, confronted the woman about it Wednesday night.
“She muttered something about blood,” Hamblen said.
Edwards would not say if the dead man was in the apartment rented by the woman identified by the neighbors. The woman is one of many people police spoke to about the death, the sergeant said.
When asked if the man was stabbed, Edwards said, “We heard that.” He said details about the death need to come from the medical examiner’s officer because of the ongoing investigation.
A Bangor Fire Department ambulance responded to the scene initially, Edwards said. The three neighbors said a defibrillator was taken upstairs shortly after the ambulance crew arrived.
The victim’s body was removed from the seven-unit apartment building at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Colson said.
Hamblen, who recently graduated with a medical assistant’s degree, said she lives alone and is frightened by what happened.
“I’m scared to death,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of cop cars recently. I kind of think they should have seen this coming.”
The woman described by Hamblen and the other neighbors has a lengthy criminal history, including a couple of arrests earlier this month, according to Bangor Daily News archives. The BDN is not naming her because she has not been charged.
Hamblen said that with all the crime in the area, she is planning to move in the near future.
Standing outside the apartment building Thursday morning, she said one detail about Wednesday night still sends shivers down her back.
“Her dog was barking and barking,” Hamblen said of the woman. “We thought it was weird, but now it makes sense.”
Call Dexter Morgan, best blood spatter guy there is.
“SURPRISE M….F….!” – Doakes
Im sure bath salts ar somehow involved.
I know right.. That seems to be the problem. Sad Sad Sad
Bath Salts must be involved with everything in Bangor then, eh?
much more involved than they use to be ! Thats an obvious fact !
I bought some bath salts at the dollar store. . . what do I do now, it is cherry flavored
Why soak in it of course~
If it involves crime in Bangor, chances are bath salts are too
Court street isn’t exactly the best neighborhood in town. Sorry for the man’s family, I’m sure they will miss him.
The police beat and crime stats just keep going up!
I understand that the economy has a great deal to do with this, but this is getting ridiculous.
stay safe everyone, be vigilant, and protect yourselves.
The BDN: Bangor’s answer to Tabloid Journalism. Don’t need the facts, just the gory headlines, ma’am. And, someone called to ask why I was letting my newspaper delivery lapse … ???
Education has a lot to do with it too, we do not value education in our society anymore – test scores, drop-out rates and funding levels are a huge indication that people in power in our country don’t want to educate our youth. Our schools are so underfunded, more kids fall thru the cracks than are helped, it’s no wonder people are growing up to become delinquent adults.
Well said, its part of the dumbing down of America , lower IQs more poverty and criminal activity ! It goes hand in hand !
I would say drugs are our biggest scourge~
Drug addicted parents don’t have a clue as to how to raise children, but they do have the kids. That is the vicious cycle.
I agree
You can throw money at the schools all you want, but until parents actually RAISE their children, it will be only good money after bad.
It’s not just that, it’s also a degradation of our education system.
With the school laptop program, it’s easier for kids just to slack off in school and not pay attention to the teacher.
I personally know children that have told me that they play angry birds in class and get in trouble IF they’re caught.
but also we take the ability of the teachers and the schools to discipline the children.
here’s a little comic to demonstrate:
http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/teachers-now-and-then.jpg
no accountability to the student, only hurling the accusations at the parents or the teachers.
I almost peed my pants when I saw the cartoon. back in the 70’s and 80’s I would have rather been arrrested than having my parents get a phone call or letter from the school. I have talked to more than one teacher over the last few years that feels powerless. Parents want their little angel to get the best grades and reports even if they are shtheads.
Its not just the schools…… The Juvenile criminal system is the same
A lot of parents won’t raise their kids because they weren’t raised in the first place, so if the school doesn’t try to do it this vicious cycle will snowball bigger and bigger. Education is the key but more money isn’t necessarily the only answer. There has to be a way to get kids to want to learn and want to be smart and productive. A lot of kids don’t see the value of education until it is too late. You would think we would have figured this out by now. It is the 21st century after all; why would anybody not want to be educated? The life line is there , we just have to figure out how to get kids to grab it.
The life line is there. You cant make someone grab who does not want to. Its the idea that we can help everyone no matter what. We cant because some dont want the help or are very content to live the marginal life that they live. You can educate, or try to, but in some cases ignorance just cannot be fixed.
That’s right. Such people have always been with us and such people always will be. The bleeding hearts can play “I want to Buy the World a Coke” until they are blue in the face, and it STILL won’t fix anything. Our system stresses equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. Sleaze bags do not have to strive to grasp the Golden Ring, but that does not mean they get a share of mine.
Education hasn’t changed, parenting and a society that use to have values has changed. Children are raising themselves.
The biggest impediments to real education reform and progress are organized labor in education and the Democrat Party. It has been years since the kids counted at all. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself WHY those two entities are so opposed to school vouchers and competency testing of teachers.
I think you have nothing to base your comment on……….
I would not say they are underfunded .Bangor schools have high test scores . Now DR. Webb does not focus on the drop out rate it is one of the highest in the state. Claim credit for high test scores and AP programs then by all right take the blame for the high drop out rate. I would like to have a debate with DR.Webb and her $140,000 a year job . I do not feel she is in anyway a person of integrity . Knot being fully honest. When you focus on the positive and ingore the negative you are being dishonest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Landlords are part of the trouble too. Some maintain rundown places with low rents that attract people who are of poor character. The city needs a program to allow for the removal of the places available for derelicts to hangout or live in.
In my sisters neighbor hood in Boston there was a house that had police visits daily. That house was seized under a city program and the house was eventually torn down. The derelicts, having no place to stay, went somewhere else.
The economy has been in the tank before. What matters more are the permissive and forgiving social attitudes. When we subsidize poor choices and degenerate lifestyles, we get more of the same because what it amounts to is: we are PAYING people to live that way.
Exactly. There is a business on Court Street. Its in the heart of the city. There is a daycare on that street if I remember correctly. If I owned that business I would be hollering to the city to have the crap apartment houses nearby cleaned up.
We also do pay people to live marginal lives that allow them to devote a lot of time to less than productive behavior.
Bangor is becoming very unsafe as the years go on.
I haven’t lived in Bangor for a long time, but from the stories in the BDN I don’t recognize it as the city I grew up in. Court and Ohio Streets used to be very nice with a lot of wealthy people living in the homes. I was never afraid to walk down the street, now I wouldn’t care to live there with all the drugs and other bad things going on. It’s a shame.
This is exactly what happens when everyone with means moves to the suburbs. Unfortuante, but true.
No, This is why happens when free loaders know where they can get their free ride. As they move in, the working folks move out!
These things move in cycles. In the twenties Bostons South End was an elite neighborhood. By the 1950s it was a ghetto more or less and remained that way for thirty years. Now it is back on track and becoming an elite area to live.
I connect it all to the methadone clinics. When you invite 1700 addicts & the people they hang out with into your community there is going to be a lot of spillover. Some of that spillover is going to be blood. You create an atmosphere where addictive drug use is not only ok, it is encouraged, of course there is going to be other crime.
Where is your proof for this? I don’t really care for the clinics myself and really only see a very small percentage using the programs correctly, bur the reality is that the crimes rate is lower now than it was 10-20-30 years ago. Maine is still one of the safest places to live, as of 2008 it was number 46 out of 51 (inlcuding DC). Our violent crime rate is almosot half of what it was in 1980.
The police would disagree. Talk to them. Watch the reports the Chief gives to the City Council on the public access channel and the connections he draws between the people who use the clinics, bath salts & burglary.
I am speaking of Bangor specifically so I don’t know how those stats effect the state stats but I have lived here most of my life and I can’t recall a problem so visible. Perhaps it is because since last June I have been either involved in or a bystander in four different drug related events where the police were involved.
I agree with you. I think some people are just in denial.
yep!
To say that Bangor is safer now then it was 10-20-30 years ago just isn’t correct. I, like cheesey, grew up in Bangor. I can honestly say that I never felt threatened when walking the streets either day or night. There were many nights when I was in high school that I walked home from the library to what we now call the tree streets. While I have to agree with cheesey, and that doesn’t happen very often, that the large amount of those using the methadone clinics most certainly contribute to the problem they most assuredly aren’t the only cause. Parents used to be parents to their children and taught them, for the most part, the difference between right and wrong and to respect other people. That is no longer the case.
I keep wondering why Bangor, with its much smaller population, has three methadone clinics and Portland, with a much larger metro area, has three as well. Somehow that doesn’t make sense at all. Perhaps those numbers have changed, but not that I’ve seen.
I understand Bangor is considered a “service community”. That means people take the social service bus from Bucksport and cabs from as far away as Eastport to get the legal fix. It is only natural that those from other communities would congregate here, around where they get the goodies without having to travel. That means there is a larger subculture than might normally exist in a city our size. The number of addicts being serviced is common knowledge… around 1,700. That is a lot for a city of 33,000 (U.S. Census est 2011)
invite 1700 addicts? 1700 people weren’t shipped into bangor to use methadone clinics.. they already existed in our community. and plenty of people who do not use drugs also make stupid decisions, including committing crime.
No they were just given stipends and bus tickets to get them here.
Cheesey you are way out of the loop. You are clueless about facts.
Correct me where I am wrong.
I just finished a Bangor Metro article on the subject. It explains a great deal about treatment and the history but does little to address the associated crimes.
In fact, all it says on the subject is…. Many of the towns and cities that have passed moratoriums on clinics are concerned about clinics “attracting drug users and dealers to their communities”. “Others are upset that the Methadone, as well as mileage to and from the clinics, is paid by medicaid.”
That was how the Bangor Metro passed over the issue. Again I refer you to The Police chiefs report to the Bangor City Council of last fall regarding Bath Salts, the clinics and associated crime.
You are making your facts up. That is where you are wrong. You are associating crime with heroin use and that is an erroneous assumption. More crimes are commited under the influence of alcohol. There are hundreds of alcohol outlets between you and Eastport yet you blame crime increase on 3 clinics that are helping folks get un addicted. Why aren’t you closing alcohol mills down? You have no idea what a heroin addict is. If you tripped over one you wouldn’t know it because you have preconceived ideas about addicts. Bangor metro passed over the issue because it doesn’t exist.
What did I make up, please??
Actually, as someone who has worked IN one of the methadone clinics, the idea that these 1,700 patients are bringing crime to this area is ridiculous. The majority of these patients lead everyday lives just like you and me, and you wouldn’t know the difference if you saw them out in a public setting. Yes, there is a small percentage that probably do contribute to crime around here, but isn’t there a small percentage in every group to contribute to crime in some way or another – and whose to say that it is in anyway related to them being a patient at a methadone clinic? Also, the patients that travel from another city/town to get treatment at these clinics typically turn right back around and go back to where they came from immediately after dosing – leaving no time to commit CRIMES. So I’d be interested to know where you get your “facts” on these patients and their “contribution” to crime around here. Hmm… Very interesting. People are always trying to find someone or someTHING to point their finger at just to hear themselves talk and sound intelligent. Worry about the things that directly affect you and YOUR family because I’m pretty sure someone getting a daily dose of methadone at 5:30 a.m. and then going back home, or to work, has NOTHING to do with you.
In other words you are telling me to mind my own business?
My tax dollars are involved as well as personal encounters with drugs & druggies on my properties.
Tell me exactly what was your take from the methadone clinics. How did you profit?
As for my sources. Talk to the Bangor PD.
And? I wonder if you are stereotyped as well?
Have fun with YOUR label
Correction: This is WHY everyone moves to the suburbs…
I also remember the good old days. Many of my friends lived in that vicinity and we walked the streets day and night without fear. Would not even think of going there now.
When were those “good old days”? The reality is that Maine’s crime rate has actually fallen, the crime rate was at its worst between ’72 and ”81. Look it up. Back then there was over 1000 (1331 in ’75) burlgaries per 100,00 residents, in 2010 554 per 100,00. Violent crimes were higher as well.
The reality is that the media, and specifically the internet was not like it is today. Today we hear of crimes in almost real time, which skews our perception of crime, and other things. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but now we know everything that really is going on and because of that we are more afraid and evidentially think it’s worse because we hear everything that happens.
To those who talk about the methadone clincis bringing crime, though I don’t believe in the clinics myself, the data does not support the perception that these are the cause of crime, again rates have decreased.
I would say stats are already outdated and only part of the story right now. I think a lot of people would agree it’s quite obvious that Bangor has a growing problem.
You are correct here. Bath Salts & the effect of the clinics was not felt in Bangor before the last couple of years. Bangor only became the “go to resource” by Police agencies dealing with the issue nationally in the last year.
The police would disagree with your last paragraph and have said so in public. More than once.
I thought that was the case. That area has decline immensely in the past 20 years.
I am going back to the 50’s and 60’s…early 70’s as well…we were free to walk the streets without fear. I left after then and was gone a long time but returned home. I do not like the way some neighborhoods have declined. Some here said how nice the homes were and they were. Not sure what happened but nice is a thing of the past in that area.
People on methadone may not need to commit crimes to get drugs. How many stay with the program? how many questionable people does it draw into the area . Yes I believe its a net gain in crime for the Bangor area . I thinnk some street drug users might not make as much crime cause they get free drugs . Many people on methadone still use street drugs that is the greatest myth the clinics push. I have seen it.
I know a few people who have turned to the clinic for help and although it took a long time, it saved them and they have moved on to a normal life thats drug free, That includes alcohol free as well. A person has to really want to quit in order to do so.
The new disease around here is gambling. People are losing families, homes and jobs, so they will need to turn to stealing to pay for their habit. Like any addiction, people will do whatever it takes get the money to pay for it. People have kids for an income and that needs addressing as much as anything.
Just curious are your friends still on methadone? Are they working? Or let me guess do they get SSI?
Both worked, one paid partially by insurance for treatment, the other out of pocket , this person went to college, which they are paying for out of pocket who was on the Dean’s list for all 4 years and has been offered a 6 figure job, So there smartass. Sorry, your negative thinking won’t be getting it’s fix today.
and methadone is just substituting one drug for another.
Indmainer I would like to know where you get your information? Crime rate has gone up drastically since these clinics have been here and a large percentage of those people that go to the clinic are still using and that is a fact!! These clinics are doing nothing but bringing more trash up here to Bangor, they should shut down. They are doing nothing but supplying people with drugs to beat another drug problem. How many of these people actually have jobs? How many of these people get SSI I bet the majority of them do the place is a joke!!!!
There is a lot of nonreported crime going on here too. I’ll take anecdotal (as well as seen personally by me) data over ‘statistical’ data anyday.
We need to stop burying our collective heads in the sand here. Bangor has a very real problem.
Drugs.
Yup.
I don’t know where you get your info but your WAY OFF BASE if you think the crime rate in Bangor has gone down.. I have lived here all my life and the crime rate in Bangor is at an all time high for sure
I used to live in that apt building back in 2002/2003….I never felt unsafe in that area..of course then the police station was just 2 buildings down…so that might have helped keep things under control.
The Police Department has moved and is no longer on Court St.
Police are doing a great job. Policing the city is a lot tougher than it ever was since we have to deal with deadly drugs and their resultant violence, 24 hours a day.
Most of the increased fall-out is between druggies and alcoholics. For the most part, the fights and intrusions are between drugged and drunk people who know each other, but are unable to control their drug and alcohol – induced erratic and violent behavior.
I’ll agree that the police are more capable and motivated than ever. Police alone, however, cannot be the answer. I think there is a trend to blame “society” for crime and other ills around us. I disagree with that. I say the problem is a move away from holding people responsible for their actions. Society doesn’t commit crimes; people do. Until we again hold individuals responsible for their actions, we are going to have this wave of crime and drug use. No more excuses! Forget poor environment, bad potty training, invented ‘hate speech’ codes, political correctness, and multiculturalism. People who break the law go to jail.
The bail system seems weak. A man charged with forced entry into a person’s apartment is free on bail. This despite the fact the man has numerous run-ins with the law and failed to appear for arraignment in some cases.
Druggies are out within hours of being arrested. So are those charged with domestic assault. People held on these and other dangerous charges should be locked up to await a bail hearing before a judge. Bail hearings could be set either once or twice a week. In the meantime, those charged and considered a danger to themselves and others should be held without bail behind bars.
News accounts repeatedly report that a person arrested for using Bath Salts was picked up again within hours of their release, and found to be climbing the trees aided by the same killer drug.
starting to remind me of lewiston…
It was just a matter of time before the waves of scurge washed north to Maine !
If I owned a rental property I would do police background checks on all applicants and only allow those with clean records to move in. That would make the rest of the tenants feel safer.
Yes, that makes sense. And yet to do a State Police Background check costs 40 dollars. Money well spent most likely. If you go to the police station and ask about someone directly you are going to get told they cant talk to you most likely. And then if you deny the person due to a criminal record then can you somehow be sued for violating thier rights?
And suppose I move in and I have no arrest record but I hang out with ghetto wannabees and my brother moves in after getting out of Warren after five years. He starts selling drugs again and then your nice little apartment becomes full of garbage.
There are databases online that can be used to check each state that the applicant has lived in (with the applicant’s written permission). Some complexes even require that the tenant pick up a local police record from the town in which they live. If no record, the report will then state that. Landlords need to be careful of applicant’s with sob stories. While some people are legitimate, many are well versed con artists.
Police checks can be helpful, however, a landlord also deals with all their guests and people that they have not necessarily included on the lease.
Unfortunately Downtown Bangor is becoming more and more unsafe– I often ask myself.. Where are the police ON FOOT patrolling?
The Police patrol on bikes in the summertime. I feel pretty good going to restaurants and the like in the evening. Daytime is no real issue.
Cops cost money. Cops on foot can do far less than a cop in a car.
you cant walk around and feel safe anymore
Based on what little can be released someone got upset about their missing laundry.
Arrest the Landlord!!! Landlords should be held accountable for their tenants!!! Landlords are Evil!!! and should baby sit their adult tenants and this wouldn’t happen…
What point are you trying to make? It appears to be an attempt at humor/satire but I think it missed.
Bangor City Council is looking into making Landlords accountable for their tenants, Pay attention to what happening in your city.. We now have Orono’s old manager who pushed this issue in Orono.. and yes it’s humor…
Being held accountable for a murder and being held accountable for constant violations that result in the police frequently being dispatched to an apartment are two different things.
The landlords are paying the taxes, mortgage etc on their apartment buildings. They are the ones that are just as responsible for what goes on in that apartment building as they are for the home they reside in. Landlords are the ones to make the ultimate choice of who rents from them, therefore they should be held accountable for the choices they make.
If they don’t want to deal with having the police contact them regarding repeated issues at THEIR owned residence, paying fines for violating codes or being contacted by neighboring residential homeowners, then perhaps they should be carefully screening who they rent to. If they don’t care who they rent to as long as they have money coming in, they need to realize there may be consequences for their lack of responsibility.
I realize that you are attempting to be humorous. This response is only to set the record straight that the intent of the Bangor City Council is to protect residential home owners from the illegal and dangerous activities of apartment building tenants who have no regard for the law.
So, where do you suggest these people live? It’s not like they are just going to disappear from the community.
Perhaps it’s more of how are they are forced to become law abiding citizens. We’re talking about drug dealers, pedophiles, prostitutes, etc. It should not be up to law abiding residential home owners, trying to raise a family, to worry about where these type of people should live.
Were you to have a person that sold drugs to children, or subjected them to worse, living in your home, would you worry about where they were going to go? Or would you be inclined to remove them from your residence?
That plan is all fine and dandy………..until the scumbag lawyers show up.
Forced to become law abiding citizens? Good luck. Take a look at the mugshots printed daily in the BDN. 75% of them have a big stupid grin on ther face. The criminal justice system is a big joke to them. The jails might just as well have revolving doors.
The problem is a deep one, and its starting at home. The breakdown of the family unit, the garbage hurled at kids on TV and the internet 24/7, an entitlement mentality brought on by numerous failed social programs and on and on.
Ah many of the jails do have revolving doors on them. But the fact is many “habitual offenders” have lost the ability to assimilate into society after release from jail/prison.
I know of one young man recently convicted of two felonies, served two days in jail. Are you trying to tell me that after two days, he can’t assimilate? Two days. A felony should get you at least a year. Not anymore.
Did you read the post from beginning to end? If you did, do you understand what “habitual offender” is? Someone that was tried and convicted of two felonies would not be classified as a “habitual offender”.
Habitual offender is a felonie
Um NO.
ha·bit·u·al
1. Done as a habit.
2. Regular; usual: “his habitual dress”
Read my post. 2 DAYS for two felonies. You get two days for a freaking OUI.
I did read your post. 2 days or 1000 days for two felonies does not make one a habitual offender. And you don’t “get two days for a freaking OUI” on the first offense without “aggravating factors”.
Duh, You used to get two days mandatory for an OUI with no aggravating factors. I had first hand experience in 1986. And back then, you damn well would have served more than 2 days for 2 felony counts. As far as habitual offender. This kid was only charged with the felonies they could easily convict on. The cops basically ignored all of the other evidence from other crimes that would have taken too many resources to gather the necessary evidence to prosecute. There were other victims of his little crime wave that were never even informed that some of their stolen property had been recovered.
Depends on the felony . Maybe he rated a couple people out. Many people get charges dropped or let go because they gave police the right info.
Nope. Ratted no one out. Skipped bail to boot. Went to rehab long enough to be able to say he was doing it and a longer sentance would get in the way of the rehab, boo hoo. Got two days and some probation. Was shooting up the night he got out.
Poor Babies
And your comment contributes to the dialog how?
Jail and prison have many programs that are paid for by the same people that they have committed crimes against. AA, NA, GED, Collage courses, wood working, computers, to list a few. The fact is we give them all the tools to change but most don’t.
Jail is suppose to be punishment not rehab for people. The thing is a lot of people in jail do not see it as punishment . joke and play games like kids . Refine there criminal skills make new contacts. Its like a big party for some. Hey they get to see all thier friends and joke about it. now some people make mistakes and will not be back you can almost tell witch ones will by just watching them in jail. I made a stupid choice did a week and never went back learned from my mistake.
David you missed my point.
For some offenders jail becomes a home. They come out, cannot find a job, have poor social skills, etc…so they re-offend to go home.
I am simple stating facts.
I agree. Jail does very little to show these people a different way. Yes its home to them . Maybe we make it a bit to easy .
Your apt building is not your Home, it is your business. It’s your tenants Home.
And where do you propose that those denied by the landlord live?
Being a responsible Landlord, and being resposible for your tenants is 2 different can of worms.. We have a management company screen out our tenants for credit and background checks, yet just because these people pass the checks doesn’t mean they aren’t going to cause trouble. if they are found guilty of a crime when a tenant of ours their lease is ended.. That makes us responsibile Landlords.. While you seem to want to find the Landlord guilty of crimes their tenants commit is stupid period.. you don’t babysit adults… Talk about big brother watching over everything in all our lives.
One more, Should a store owner be held responsibile for people stealing from them.. They let them in the door, it the Shop owners fault right?
Portland and Biddeford have both found that responsible landlords like these laws because it helps them get rid of bad tenants.
We screen our tenants, and our contract states if they break any laws that their lease will be terminated, My tenants screen well, yet someday for some reason they could flip out.. I am not responsible for their behavior period…
No, you aren’t responsible for their behavior, but wouldn’t you at least question your tenants if your building was a regular stop for the local police department? Judging by the fact you screen your tenants and terminate contracts, then you’re a responsible landlord.
Who owns this one? I would not agree that whomever does is a responsible landlord. That whole area’s a mess.
Note this quote from above: “I’m scared to death,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of cop cars recently. I kind of think they should have seen this coming.”
So, as a responsible landlord, wouldn’t you like some backup if in spite of your efforts you did end up with some bad apple tenants who were damaging your building and making life hell for you and your other tenants and you were having a hard time getting them the heck out of your building?
That’s what these ordinances do, they allow the cops and court to back up the good landlords, not just come down on the absentee slumlords. It’s been in effect in Biddeford for about six months and the response really has been good from the local good-guy landlords.
Really…here to tell you there are tons of slumlords in both of these cities and asking huge rent fees.
I’ve rented in both places, and yes,there are awful landlords, but there are also many who are doing their best to maintain their buildings and keep their good tenants by providing a decent environment and it can be tough.
If one tenant is making life miserable for the people in the building and the neighborhood, this is one way to help make life better for everybody else playing by the rules. It’s purposely not easy to evict someone in Maine, but this is a way to get someone who’s really causing problems out.
They put it in place about six months ago as an experiment and since then, both tenants and landlords in Biddeford have reacted favorably.
Um..that’s more like a half-way house….
Not landlords dear – slumlords. Big difference! Landlords actually care about who they put in their buildings.
I wonder if an out-of-state investment company owns that one. hmmmm.
They are getting top dollar from these people. A guarantee check every month.
Court St. You don’t say.
Hmmm… Court Street… Just roll them down the hill, open the jail doors!!
no threat but blood splatter HUH
As in either the person blew their brains out (which I doubt, considering it is suspicious) or the person who inflicted the harm in fact is in jail/custody/or is being questioned, but they didn’t want to release that info yet.
OR they’re a minority and it wouldn’t be politically correct to warn the public.
gimme a break. Are you for real?
my exact thought !
The more programs=more undesirables. I know many dont want to admit it but its a sad truth.
There is NO reputable correlations to such claims.
There are NO reputable, evidence-based studies to show that methadone is a valid treatment for opiate addiction, but that hasn’t stopped anybody yet.
True true true…we need to get rid of that stuff and the clinics…
Very nicely said!!!!
Translation: That is not a Politically Correct statement; you can’t prove it, nyah, nyah.
Perhaps, but there is plenty of common sense to corroborate such claims. People who are not able to or choose not to be self sustaining, gravitate to where more is done for them. Places like Bangor, Portland and Lewiston start carrying the heavy burdens of society in Maine.
I have been saying for years: If we subsidize bad behavior, we get MORE of it. We are, after all, paying people to be dependent and clueless.
Would you rather they werent in a program and were just out there doing whatever they had to do to get their fix,not everyone on methadone is a criminal! You idiots just paint everybody with your broad brush of ignorance.
You are obviously a hater of the less fortunate. Must be one of the great GOP lovers. Cut those who are down and out.
Paul says i can tell you there is no threat to the public, however this death is suspicious, we are now sending our police officers to the mind reading school of murders evidently !
I think what they are saying is they know who did it..and obviously why. So its an isolated incident and the public is not at risk. ( Unless your involved)
Knowing who did it , still dont guarantee they wont hurt someone else ! Even after she is prosecuted and spends time in jail !
Why are you saying HE…read the story again.
read my post again, i corrected it !
Well I would not want to be a witness if this person is still on the street.
He cannot possible know that. That is like him saying obama would never kill anyone…… Nobody knows that!
Exactly my point !
Violent crime and the drug scurge has multiplied exponentially since the casino opened its doors.
Bull the casino has nothing to do with it.
Read the comment
The casino has brought some crime to Bangor, you can not deny that
And so has the Bangor Mall.
And DIRTY DAVES PASSION PITT ! LOL ! and RITE-AID, and SHAWS and any place that has something to steal, and your house and my house and it goes on and on !
Bangor Mall does not have as much crime as Bangor Jd. They have there shoplifters, but the casino, which now with table games is gonna bring more crime to Bangor. I do not care what anyone says its brought lots in to Bangor
Bangor Mall has more crime then anyone cares to admit. Shoplifting is only a part of the problem. Car burglaries, assaults, drug deals, car thefts, etc…all occur out at the Bangor Mall and surrounding areas.
Not one crime that has occurred in Bangor has been traced back to the Casino. Not even the murder where the woman was hacked to death in the shadow of the Casino was traced back to them. But the surveillance videos were instrumental in tracking down the person that did it.
Now let me ask you this, of the following choices which has brought more crime to Bangor:
a) Hollywood Casino Bangor, or
b) The methadone clinics, or
c) EMMCs ER, or
d) The various homeless shelters, or
e) Bangor’s “status” as a service sector/regional economic engine, or
f) All of the above
Where did the person go that stole the money from the elderly, hmmm hollywood slots. Where did the person o that stole from there employer, hmmm hollywood slots. Research my friend, if you cant find it let me know ill link them
So you are claiming that the crime(s) you listed (but don’t provide any supporting documentation) would not have occurred in the absence of Hollywood Casino? Can you prove that the money would not have been stolen? hmmmm
Very valid points on the crime at the Bangor Mall; it is kept under the radar so that people do not shy away from shopping there. You will find that dkenzie is extremely light on supporting documentation. He’ll insist he’s provided it but you won’t be able to find it.
Well Hello Justin, welcome Back.
You list two instances. What about the bath salts,murders,assaults,drug busts,shoplifting? Who’s to blame for these crimes? Hollywood Slots? If you think that you should remove your tinfoil antennas and phone home!
employed a sex offender as a security gaurde makes you feel safe with you children running around.
You need to wake up from that dream world your living in.
Times have changed . The amount of prescription Drugs on the street as increased . who is to blame is the real questions ? Is it drug companies? doctors? human rights groups? the economy? It is so easy for people to get drugs now the hospitals give them out like candy for people who know how to work the system. Old gradmas check has a hard time paying the light bill and food . She lets her grandson have a few to make enough just to get by.
For God’s sake. Put the blame where it really belongs!–On the low-life people who are committing these crimes!!–Most folks that frequent the Casino and shop at the Mall, have money to spend, because they EARNED it, they are not there to rip you off—The ones ripping off people are a whole different bunch, and probably have never EARNED anything in their lives!
Most of the rich GOP’s didn’t EARN their money, they have STOLEN it from the working class, so what are you talking about???
I’m sure as hell not talking about politics!!–You don’t have to be a member of the GOP to actually work for your money—-So, what is your problem??
Like Warren Buffet and George Soros?
Oh, I have heard that sad song before. The refrain goes: “I DESERVE some of that money because I want it, so gimme my share…” Nobody owes you a living. Nobody.
The Bangor police statistics prove you totally wrong, dkenzie!
And, so have three (count ’em, three) methadone clinics … why are there THREE??
Well since Methadone is used to occupy the chemical receptor that is stimulated by opiate use I would hazard a guess that Bangor and the surrounding area has a higher than normal population of people that are addicted to opiates.
And you can document that the casino is responsible how?
I think it was a timeline, April never said who was to blame, you did… You being a wordsmith are aware of how things have many meanings….
“I think it was a timeline, April never said who was to blame, you did… You being a wordsmith are aware of how things have many meanings….”
One word….Bull
Here is what April said, “Violent crime and the drug scurge has multiplied exponentially since the casion opened its doors.”
She posted a cause and affect relationship. “the casion opened its doors” and “Violent crime and the drug scurge has multiplied exponentially”.
It has nothing to do with “wordsmith” and everything to do with reading comprehension.
April did imply that the casino is [at least partially] to blame though…
I guess you better read her comment again
I am with ya its not the casinos its the drugs. Started seeing them about 15 years ago . Guess thier were always drugs but now ramdom people sometimes try to sell them to strangers . A long time ago you really had to go looking for drugs if you wanted them. Go to any local not so upscale bar and you will see it.
In my experience gambling booze drugs and prostitution go together.
Bull..you don’t see bad happenings at the casino. Get off that soapbox. The casino has done nothing but good for Bangor. There were druggies, prostitutes, and pedophiles long before the casino.
opinions are like noses…everyone has one.
One could argue that the drug scourge has multiplied exponentially since gas prices and job losses went through the roof and people with little to no resources started moving where there are more jobs and services.
At least the casino offers a little over minimum wage and access to health benefits.
Who’s this “drug scrooge” you mention? By definition, wouldn’t a scrooge help to eradicate the plethora of illicit contraband?
Ho ho! A typo! Thanks for pointing it out – I shall attempt to fix it Ebdoobineezer. ;D
Nice work!
April, you’re so right. A few days ago, I saw an old man outside the casino trying to sell his ‘blood pressure medication’ to undoubtedly feed his 1 cent penny gambling addiction and they’re also has been a lot of mysterious oxygen bottle thefts from the local hospitals.
what are people doing with the O2 bottles?
Your funny. It has nothing to do with the “Casino” it has everything to do with the Methadone clinics
I think I would put more blame on the three methadone clinics.
love bangor, but man we’ve got some issues.
Ya plays your money and take your chances…
Living in close proximity to that place, I can tell you that the police are there CONSTANTLY. At least 5 or 6 times in the last month. I don’t know what the heck goes on there, but I found myself saying it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
Robert, i live on this street as well and the police are on this street constantly lately. I wish i could afford to move right now because i don’t feel safe for me and my family. We have a drunk living in our building that my husband found outside passed out in the street. he almost hit him one night. This street is very scary.
Don’t move.
Camp out at the City council meetings and have the landlord cited for creating a public nuisance.
If the place has trash around it take pictures.
Take pictures of people coming and going.
Get your neighbors to come to council meetings with you….
SURE it is time consuming, but years ago my neighbors cleaned up a section of Worcester’s notorious Main South District. You’d be surprised at how good it feels to accomplish something like this.
This scum thrives in an environment where scared people hide in their houses and don’t take action. If you want these people gone, you should move before they bring in more of the same.
Should BDN be listing the deceased as the victim or the rapist?
i was the listening to the scanner at my house last night, i heard dispatch send the police to this address, followed immiedatly by rescue. according to the police officer over the radio, it was a stabbing, and about 45 seconds after they said stabbing they asked for the rescue to step up their response(expedite) due to patient had stopped breathing….. bangor is becomming more and more dangerous every day we wake up…
No it hasn’t. Where are your stats on this? Ther reality is that crime has decreased in the past decades. Ever think that the internet and media is the cause of this percieved raise of crime. Now we hear eveything almost as it happens, thanks to the internet, this is the only thing that’s new. Some time look up the stats for Maine crime, you might be suprised that we are now safer (according to the stats) then we were 40 years ago.
Why are you so defensive? The problem is real. The sooner everyone accepts it the sooner changes can be made.
Which problem? Scum offing other scum, or honest citizens getting blown away by perfect strangers?
I agree. 1981’s stats for maine was a heck of a lot higher than 2010. Haven’t seen 2011 yet.
Bangor the new portland. More and more people move north to escape inner city crime but bring it with them.
Is it? Or is that derilect scum is offing other derilect scum. In this case if the woman truly killed her rapist then I would say good for her.
Court Street, located between Ohio and Hammond. Ohio Street Neighborhood is becoming the “hood”.
After we bulldoze First & Second and half of Third St., let’s clean up Court as well. It would make a nice park.
You had better add Ohio St. to that mix—-
blah blah blah bulldoze, blah blah blah, because yeah, thats the answer! *eye roll*
That’s your big contribution to this conversation? Blah Blah Blah?
There are only a few place on third that need bulldozed, and we can start with 72 74 third
Sorry – I know that the responsible 3rd Street folks don’t like to hear it, but here have been a number of crack busts there over the years, most of the houses have gone to seed, and it’s located next door to First and Second Streets, which are arguably the worst streets in this town. Most of 3rd has to go.
If I was city Council and had a plan to bulldoze, I’d start with Bald-mountain Drive. Not relevant to this story, but just saying.
They will just move to other parts of the city. What you are not taking into consideration is section 8 housing. Guaranteed income.For the people with the apartments.Section 8 apartments aren’t cheap.Your check comes from some government office every month.People who are close to retirement who own buildings don’t really care about the buildings as they do the money.Eventually another part of the city will be in decline.
I sure hope Amanda Hamblen gets a new apartment soon, since BDN was so kind as to tell the world that she lives alone on the first floor of this building.
She told that herself on the 6 o’clock news so the BDN is probably safe.
The suspect has a history of mental illness. If the Governator wants to close Dorthea Dix, you can expect these type of events several times a week. The landlord of the apt building has made a big mistake renting the apt to her, but he’s only in it for the money not the safety of the tenants. If a tenant feels like there is a problem like this where ever they live, they should seriously consider keeping a .410 shotgun with birdshot nearby. When the police report is finished you may read that the suspect was in the cruiser for sometime ….like 10 or 15 minutes before the officer decided to enter her apt. too bad those obviously were life saving minutes eh!
I have lived here for nearly 12 years now, and there has been a huge change in that time—-between the drug scene and the ‘suspicious” death’s, it dosen’t say a lot of good things about living here!
you mean that section of Court street isn’t safe?
has any good thing happened on Court St. lately???
It’s only going to get worse with more new gambling tables coming to town.
blackjack makes people stab each other? i did not know that. HIT ME!
Some citizens in Bangor have a drug problem. Nationwide the drug problem is getting much worse. I grew up in Bangor and live here today. I am not the least bit worried about walking in any section of this town and never have been. I carry a piece, concealed, but that isn’t why. Most of the crime you see in this city is from the same idiots over, and over, and over again.
This is a great town. Would it be better without the clinics, section 8, homeless shelter, Dorthia Dix, Casino, mall, nightlife and on and on and on…probably but a growing city is what we wanted and in order for that to exist you must please a diverse population. Live in the burbs if you don’t like it.
this story really has my interest why so little information
Bangor is becoming unsafer because we have a bunch of people on City Council that allowed us to have not one but 3 methadone clinics? We do not have the population in Bangor, Maine to justify three clinics. We also are too generous with our welfare and social services in the Bangor area. We have people showing up on the bus each day and getting everything they need, also heard that many deal drugs while staying at the shelter and many drug deals go down right in the parking lot and park accross the street and right near police department? Well they go to the methadone clinic and still use and then eventually end up on SSI so they sit on their butts and collect benefits while you and I pay for it dearly with our tax dollars. Welcome to Bangor, Maine the way life shouldn’t be!!!!!!
Methadone makes people rapists? Phew, finally someone figured it out.
“I’m scared to death,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of cop cars recently. I kind of think they should have seen this coming.” ….that’s how i felt when that kid was shot on cumberland st…. i reported to pd that someone was going to get hurt because they were allowing skateboard kids to repeatedly go up against the “bangor bloods” with weapons. i was told to not go to any of the parks, that they were not safe. i wonder if that kid would still be alive if they would not turn a blind eye. when complaining about a heroin needle from a neighbor, i was told to “there’s too much red tape, it’s the neighborhood i moved into and to talk to my landlord about it.
You have to carry a weapon around in bangor now. It’s not safe not to.
No, you do NOT “have to” pack. BUT for those who wish to do so, PLEASE make sure you have at least one gun safety course under your belt. The NRA offers a good one.
My least favorite scenario is sitting on a bus when a criminal and an unschooled civilian start shooting at each other… Actually didn’t that happen in Bangor some years ago?
No one has been arrested, he said.
Lets all say it together now….SHOCKER!!!!!!
Folks… Most crime ESPECIALLY violent crime is between people who know each other. The answer to avoiding crime is to be very careful picking friends and associates. Stranger crime is a very small percentage of the statistics.
Absolutely. The question everyone living in Bangor ought to be asking themselves is “Do I fear that I will be the victim of violent crime?” and if you answer yes, you’re kind of delusional. The statistics don’t bear that out. Bangor is still a remarkably safe place to live (which is remarkable given the issues we have with substance abuse and poverty).
I don’t “fear” being in a head-on car accident either. Statistics don’t suggest that it is likely based on the number of accidents and the number of miles driven. We do however equip our cars with airbags and are required to wear seat-belts just the same. I look at having a firearm for protection the same way. Will in all probability never need it, but its there if required.
Ron Reagan said “Trust but verify.” I agree. get a gun. Don’t forget the part about making sure you are proficient at using it.
The State needs to set up a Methadone clinic in Blue Hill next to the Co – Op, or next door to the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. There the addicts will feel welcomed by more open minded, non judgemental people who CARE more rather than us knuckle dragging mean Repulicans in Bangor… Just read the dopey letters to the editors from the residents of these towns. They have all these great ideas and causes when it is someone else’s backyard or money.
three days and not much change in the story we the people want to know more
i think Bangor is a great town , and we need to look around new england and take a look at other industial cities that have gone through the change from industrial to a less industrial more residential bussines makeup ….and some of them have faired very poorly , and you cant get out of your car during the day time in most of em ….when i lived in mass , a brockton lumber yard we used for our projects was in one such nieghborhood , very scary during the daytime …but here in bangor we have done very good compared to the other cities such as Lynn Nashua, Worchester, Fall river Lewiston,These places are good examples of how bad it could be …………compare bangor to a town such as Plymouth mass, they have 50000 people and many industrial parks , a very active niteclub district and atleast 7 very crime filled apartment complexs… and they have a very robust drug problem …this town employs no less than 250 cops spread out over 3 shifts …..dead people are very common, happens in a whole pleathra of ways .
and driving through it looks like the perfect place to live ..prosperous, consruction jobs everywhere , good school system , …… Bangor reminds me alot of plymouth mass in the early 80s …….so the point is although Bangor has some of the recent social ills showing up , its still a great city, its just having the outside world creep in , thats all . i love Bangor , has everything ya need and no traffic , real easy to get around .
so lets not paint such a grim picture of it . :)
But its this way anywhere you just never know! Yet Bangor has become more of a drug hang out town then it used to be and most of these cases are drug related in some way, no not ALL but some. I do not like to be out in that area at night time anymore but theres other towns i feel the same way about as well basicly you never know what you may encounter
As horrible and as scary as these deaths are, they are not random crimes. One possible exception might be the recent apartment break-in where one intruder was killed. However, a full report has yet to clarify that issue.
Overall, in a rash of knifing, shootings, beatings and strangling cases, they usually erupt among “friends,” or, acquaintances, according to reports.
In Bangor, drugs and alcohol are the chief motivating causes, which quickly turn an argument into what is, in some cases, a deadly confrontation.
No time to run. Stand fast. As Sgt. Edwards states: “…there is no threat to the public.”