Man leaps off cliff during foot pursuit, winds up under arrest

WATERBORO, Maine — A Shapleigh man tried to escape an operating under the influence charge by jumping off a cliff, but that led him right back to the clutches of police.

York County Sheriff’s Deputies had been called to assist a game warden who had stopped a vehicle in the woods off Webber Road on Monday morning, according to York County Major William King.

Trouble was brewing right upon Deputy Gil Hudson’s arrival, as the driver, Billie Joe Gregoire, 44, allegedly gave police a false date of birth, wouldn’t provide his name and only disclosed a seven-digit Social Security number.

Checks to dispatch by Hudson eventually identified Gregoire, who failed several field sobriety tests at the scene, according to King. When Hudson tried to arrest Gregoire, the suspect allegedly took off into the woods.

The officer gave pursuit until Gregoire jumped off a cliff, but he was eventually found in the woods near the road, King said. Gregoire allegedly continued to resist, and officers had to subdue him with a Taser to get him into custody.

Gregoire was booked into the York County Jail on charges of OUI and refusing to submit to arrest, both Class D misdemeanors. He remains at the jail on $1,500 bail Wednesday morning.