AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine Warden Service pilot who was placed on administrative leave this summer after his arrest on a domestic violence assault charge is back on the job, a warden service official confirmed Thursday.
Warden pilot Charles Later was returned to service after the warden service completed an internal review into alleged misconduct, Cpl. John MacDonald confirmed.
MacDonald said Later, who previously flew out of the Greenville Regional Headquarters, now is assigned to the warden service’s seaplane base at Eagle Lake in northern Maine. It was not immediately clear when Later returned to work.
Later was the warden service’s chief pilot at the time he was placed on administrative leave. MacDonald said that another pilot has been named acting chief and that the position will be advertised in the near future.
“The people of Maine are well-served by having Charlie back flying for us,” Col. Joel Wilkinson said in a statement released on Thursday.
The allegations stemmed from Later’s arrest in June on charges of domestic violence assault, obstructing the report of a crime and criminal mischief charges. Those charges were dropped in late August. Later pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge and was fined $500 during an appearance in Piscataquis County Superior Court.
District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said in August that he had to drop the charges because the victim, Later’s wife, refused to cooperate with his office.
MacDonald said Thursday that there was no suspension or revocation of Later’s law enforcement certification after a separate review of alleged criminal conduct by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s board of trustees.
Later had been accused of throwing items and food while drunk. He also was accused of shoving his wife and ripping the phone out of the wall when she called police.
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 received 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.
Another case of, “I’m here to ENFORCE the law, not to obey it.”
BS. Hold your tongue because you are absolutely clueless to the facts. If there is a more honorable servant to this state then we are lucky to have more.
Says the person who had read a few poorly written BDN articles and thinks they know all about it.. An investigation was completed. If you have such a problem with the police then dont ever call them again.. I’m sure you can find an addict that will hurry right over and help you out.
Private citizens have every right to be concerned and voice an opinion about any public servant.
This is a clear example of the justice system taking care of one of their own. And they wonder way people distrust the law!
As much as I don’t agree with people in the system getting out of trouble for the pure fact that they are “in the system”, it does say, “District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said in August that he had to drop the charges because the victim, Later’s wife, refused to cooperate with his office.”
Having a family member in law enforcement I also know that if charges were dropped and he was never proven to be guilty then they actually can’t fire him for it. I’m not defending him if he did these things but if his wife didn’t go forth with the charges and he was never found guilty then he can’t be fired for that. They’d have to find something else.
Victim’s don’t bring charges, the State does. Part of the States get tough on domestic violence offenders was taking this stance so that victims didn’t blame themselves when their abuser went to jail. If the responding officers did their job, Almy did not need the wife to cooperate wirth his office. The fact that he pled guilty to disorderly conduct indicates the original charges were true. Unfortunately the ball was dropped twice in the case. First by the District Attorney for not aggressively prosecuting this case and then by the Maine Crinial Justice Academy for not pulling his certification. Another perfect example that the criminal justcie system is their own worst enemy.
Hmmm. Ok, I’m not trying to be rude here or anything I honestly am asking so that I can understand more. If that is the case then how come another person I know who was a victim decided not to press charges and they couldn’t do anything about it because they had no proof? If the victim doesn’t cooperate and there is no real proof (and, unfortunately just pleading guilty isn’t “proof” as sometimes people do this to cover for others) then how can charges continue to be pressed? This reminds me of the EMMC doctor case that happened not long ago where his wife said he threatened to throw his infant daughter out the window but because the wife moved out of the country and wouldn’t contact anyone the charges had to be dropped. It seems this is just how the system works sometimes and not just because of law enforcement.
Especially since the original charges where “throwing things” (if he had hit any person that charge would be quite different) and one “shove”.
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Those are incredibly weak charges to begin with and if that shove had resulted in any perceivable injury, even a slight one, it would have been part of the charges.
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There was no physical evidence; there was no physical harm done, so there was nothing to prosecute on without the wife’s testimony – and in fact very, very little to prosecute on even with her testimony.
If the department went ahead and fired him over something he wasn’t charged for they would be going into battle with the union and end up paying tons of tax payer money out. I don’t agree that, that is how it should be but unfortunately much of this is politics with the union.
I THOUGHT THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW WAS IN PLACE SO IF THE VICTIM
DROP THE CHARGES THE STATE PICKS THEM. IF IT WAS YOU OR ME WE BE IN JAIL AND HAVE OUR GUNS TAKEN AWAY
I was just thinking the same. http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/09/19/news/lewiston-auburn/man-acquitted-of-paris-domestic-violence-charge/
Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor said it was important to enforce the law, even if the woman wasn’t interested in Minott’s prosecution. “We can’t pick and choose which laws we want to enforce,” he told jurors.
although the man in the story to the link I just posted was not guilty, for obvious reasons, the state does indeed pick up domestic violence charges. To be charged with obstructing the report of a crime, ripping a phone out of a wall, a cop would have to see a phone that had been indeed ripped out of a wall.
this part of the article is BS…..To be charged with obstructing the report of a crime, ripping a phone
out of a wall, a cop would have to see a phone that had been indeed
ripped out of a wall.
I would question if throwing food and other objects with no report of any person being hit was a crime to begin with. If there was no crime then he could not obstruct reporting one.
He was accused of “throwing items and food while drunk. He also was accused of shoving”.
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There does not appear to have been much violence in the charges to begin with and charging him may have been a seriously overblown reaction.
shoving someone is assault
With no physical evidence it is pure she said/he said and she now refuses to say.
If I walked into the police office and heaved a doughnut at someones head , even if the pastry did not hit it’s target I would be charged with a crime.
The story does not say he threw anything at any person.
Charlie is a good man and justice was done. Good to have him back on the force.
He is a great guy and a good father! Until you walk I’m his shoes, don’t judge! Does his wife drink? Does she work? What do you know other than what you read! Live here!!!!!!
just another case of a P —- off man drunk! No one was injured! He should be back to work!!!
So because she might not work it is ok for him to abuse her? Really ? I don’t care if she didn’t work and had just spent his whole retirement fund. NO excuse for abuse EVER.
Now I have no idea what happened with these people but if you want to defend this guy- you better come up with something better then “well she doesn’t work so it is ok for him to smack her around”
I may be wrong, but I thought that Maine prosecutes domestic violence cases, even when an alleged victim of decides not to pursue charges? I believe it is so the “person who always returns to their abuser” can break the cycle.
Oh wait, the alleged abuser in this case is in law enforcement. Rules don’t apply.
Maine prosecutes domestic violence cases, even when an alleged victim of decides not to pursue charges
?
THAT is an excellent question, anyone have the answer?
Yes the state of Maine prosecutes even if they have no help from the victim.
They would need some sort of “proof” to be able to make it stick though.
should be: “Later….Charles”
Did anyone expect anything else from the Maine Warden Service?
So few of “them” are held accountable for their actions. Any other guy would be in jail, have his guns taken and his life ruined.
TO TYKE :
I HAD A FRIEND SHOVE HIS WIFE AND HE GOT JAIL TIME ,FINE AND LOST HIS GUNS HIS WIFE REFUSE TO HELP THE POLICE