SHIRLEY, Maine — The chief pilot with the Maine Warden Service has been placed on administrative leave in connection with his arrest earlier this month on domestic violence assault and other charges, officials confirmed Friday.
In addition to domestic violence assault, Charles Later, 54, of Shirley is charged with obstructing the report of a crime and criminal mischief, Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said.
Later was charged on June 3, according to the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department.
Almy said that the charges stem from an investigation into an alleged assault on a woman at Later’s residence in Shirley. He said that Later, who had been drinking, got into an altercation with the victim and while she was trying to call 911 for help, damaged the telephone and shoved her.
Later is scheduled to appear in Piscataquis County Superior Court on June 25, Almy said.
Later was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the sheriff’s investigation and a review by the Piscataquis County district attorney’s office, Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service said Friday.
The warden service also will be doing its own independent investigation of the incident, MacDonald said in a message. He declined further comment.
Later was hired as the warden service’s chief pilot in April 1999, according to a news story from the Bangor Daily News archives.
He first learned to fly with his father, who also was a Maine Warden Service pilot, and earned his pilot’s license at age 17.
Before he was hired by the warden service, Later was a pilot and director of maintenance for Folsom Air in Greenville and before that he worked in Aroostook County for Valley Airlines and in Portland for Maine Aviation.
In 2009, he was named the Maine Warden Service’s Supervisor of the Year Award for “his expertise in aviation, fiscal responsibility and supervision of two MWS pilots who provide all of the aviation needs for the MWS throughout the state.”
According to the state’s website, the Maine Warden Service’s Aviation Division consists of three aircraft and three full-time pilots, each of whom also is a sworn game warden.
I would say time for a job change.
The mandatory kind.
I’m glad the victim managed to get help despite having this violent bully manhandling her for her phone.
It says he was ‘charged’ so did he ever get arrested? And if not WHY? and if so how much was his bail (which is typically $3.00) ? And it’s lovely that the BDN goes into all his work history and accomplishments and what a great warden this guy is but…..ummmm WHO CARES the point of the story is that he allegedly assaulted someone…..we don’t get the work history on any other loser who allegedly assaults someone – so why this guy who in LAW ENFORCEMENT which make the hypocrisy even more pathetic.
Everyone is human – and all humans do bad things. Do you think people in public authority are above the wicked behavior we are all capable of? Looks at Congress or the President – or anyone in the public eye – there are bad apples everywhere – you need not look far.
The added information about how awesome he is was kind of annoying. They’ll hit him twice as hard because he’s a cop if he is found guilty. It would be nice to see at least one wife-beater get serious time.
It says he was arrested. The work history and accomplishments are what make the charge newsworthy and that is the point of the story. The BDN doesn’t report the work histories of other persons charge with dv assault because, unless they do something unusually depraved or their personal background seems in direct contradiction to the offense, they don’t report on it at all. They didn’t report on his work history because of the assault, they reported on the assault because of his work history.
I think it just goes to show that Domestic Violence is present in all socio-economic settings. People tend to think that DV is limited to “low-income” or “trashy” families when the opposite is true. I think it’s good that they told his employment history. It shows that even the best of us have problems.
it just shows they need to reconsider what domestic violence should consist of.
Time to take away the badge and gun from this guy. Real tough guy, beating on a woman.
Where does it state in the article he was beating on a woman? It states he shoved her which is still wrong but I see no mention of him beating her.
You must belong to the Tea Party, where it is OK to assault women.
How many atheist do you know that are members of the Tea Party? I also stated it was wrong that he shoved her but you seemed to miss that point. So once again, I ask you.
Where in the article does it state he was beating on a woman?
Always making political comments on non-political articles.
We have yet to hear a credible report of a Tea Partier assaulting a woman. Yet we have more than one credible report on OWS people raping women.
shoving is not beating. she probably shoved him too for all we know
PAID leave I am sure. That’ll learn him I say. A paid vacation will fix his red wagon. He’ll think twice before he slaps HER again…
This comes up often. I don’t think they can legally suspend him without pay without pay in the absence of a ton of evidence or a conviction.
WTF not? I can get fired for no reason at all. Maine is an at will state. I guess unless the taxpayers are paying you.
Two words. Lawyers. Unions. I’m not saying its right, but it is what it is.
You forgot the third word: justice. He’s been accused, not convicted.
Then let him KEEP WORKING then. What a waste of my tax dollars!
There are a lot of “wastes” of tax dollars but I’m sure he actually earns his salary. Unlike so many in this state that DO NOTHING to contribute to society, still beat their wives AND receive thousands a month in tax payer money. At least this guy will either get fire or go back to work. Either way, we’ll get SOMETHING out of it.
There is very little justice in the “justice system.” If there was, a lot more people would be in jail. I think you are referring to another two words. “due process.” Which I have no problem with.
……because if you are falsely accused (which can happen a lot to people in law enforcement, or other professions in which you end up making people angry on a daily basis), and you had to be put on unpaid leave every time something was being investigated, you could be bankrupt before it was ever determined that you were innocent. So if it turns out that the accuser was lying then it seems fair, but if the guy is found guilty, then it seems crazy that he gets paid in the mean time, but what other choice is there really?
I guess the rude bossy attitude doesn’t work at home.
The article says he as been charged. Nowhere in the article did I see he had been convicted. I do see, however, that he has been convicted in this court of opinion.
If sombody accused you of wrongdoing, you would want the opportunity for a hearing. You would be very upset if everyone else just assumed you did it.
I am not saying he did not do this, but why not wait until the court hears the case. If he is guilty, then he will be dealt with by the court. If not, then you have hung an innocent man.
Good people make poor decisions everyday! There is no excuse for domestic abusive no matter who you are! Please before you bash this person anymore remember that the important thing is that he gets the help he needs and takes responsibility for his actions. It’s very sad that it had to happen.
Indeed. The Blessed Patty Giles hit Joshua Constantine, drove home, and tried to removed the evidence connecting her to his death. But it is okay because she treats all her clients with a lot of compassion. And because she is such a good person she only had to pay $60 bail. That is taking responsibility, right?
Given how much they have paid to train him and how valuable he seems to be to the warden service, it wouldn’t seem to make sense to fire him without very compelling evidence or a conviction. Even without a lawyer or a union, only a fool of an employer would fire someone unless they were reasonably sure the employee deserved to be fired.
At this point, it’s a “he said, she said”. Let the investigation conclude and the courts decide what the facts are. Women aren’t always truthful in cases like this.
I absolutely agree that women aren’t always truthful of the events; being said by a woman. It would be a shame if everyone was slamming him and he wasn’t even guilty of the charges.
they have been married for many years. IF something like this was recurring ,it seems ,she would have left him a long time ago.
While Later is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and should be afforded all benefits that entails, it is just plain wrong to say a battered spouse would have left if she was being battered. Domestic violence is thrown around lightly at any chance of making it stick when the real domestic assault cases are so much more than the physical manifestations. It involves mental abuse and emotional trauma that crushes the victims self esteem, ego, and worth and emotionally damages them until they cannot leave because they truly believe that the abuse is love and that no one else will ever care about them or take them in.
So basically no, if it is a reoccurring thing then the chances of her leaving are significantly lower, since she would have had to have stuck around through several cycles of abuse as it is. The fact she is there does not have any indication as to how often she potentially was abused.
How would you know that?
crystal ball..
You should return it and get your money back. It doesn’t work.
Wow, way to screw up having the rare honor to be a Warden pilot. Thats a position that is near impossible to get might I add. As someone told me once, you pretty much have to be superman to qualify as a pilot unless your an insider who can pull some strings. Which unfortunately is the case these days…The military isn’t any different as far as I’m concerned.
Wonder how the warden service feels about that arrest. You see, the warden service goes out of their way to pinch other law enforcement personnel, they really get ecstatic on doing that.
How ridiculous to trash the entire Warden Service for something that ONE of them is accused of in his personal life!
There is the mention of alcohol consumption. There should be some treatment administered as that is the culprit here.
ppplllleeeaaasssseee….. the bottle of alcohol didn’t twist this mans arm and make him drink it. stop making excuses and take responsibility
Sorry alcohol and drug use do not mitigate the any crime. If there was alcohol involved it was consumed voluntarily.
Sir, please turn in your firearms and your wings until the investigation is over. Don’t you read the headlines that your Gov makes-No New Domestic Violence cases in state law enforcement agencies. We have to clear up the back log of old cases first.
Years ago I once had a Bangor Police Officer tell me that when on hospital duty he had to deal with the scum on a daily basis. I suppose this could be true, but in Buffalo NY a Trama Surgeon may have been what he was talking about. Geesh…it’s refreshing to know there are people with problems in all walks of life. Better hope there aren’t any forest fires soon.
dont they have to remove the guns from his home after he was charged with domestic violence?
LOL All Wardens think they are above the law. They say publicly that if your in the woods you committing a crime you juts have not been caught yet. About time someone turned one on them in. Now will it stick or will he get off free and clear. Le’s never seem to have to pay for there crimes.
We hard telling since he hasn’t had his day in court and has been convicted of nothing.
seems shoving someone is considered domestic assault now. where are we headed?
Looks like a very unhappy man…with a gun…and a badge. I’m just sayin’…
Self Defense…
since when did pushing or shoving become domestic violence? I mean i can see if you punch someone ,give them a black eye busted lip or something but really shoving? this is getting so out of hand. But you can hit and kill someone with you car and leave the scene and not get arrested right off because there a long time member of the community lol. what a joke. the whole system is a joke. lol.