EDINBURG, Maine — A local man who was shot last summer by a Maine state trooper after he called police saying he was suicidal and then pulled a knife decided to make a similar call last week, which resulted in officers responding in force.
Warren Frederick Dome, 55, was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon on Aug. 14, 2012, after he pulled a butcher knife on state police Trooper Christopher Hashey and was shot twice. He was found guilty of the crime during a June trial held at the Penobscot Judicial Center and was released on bail pending his sentencing hearing on Aug. 22.
Dome called a crisis hot line from his home threatening suicide about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, and three officers — Troopers Barry Meserve, Adam Gould and Benjamin Campbell — went to his home, according to the state police website.
“Upon their arrival, Dome came out of the residence voluntarily and was taken into custody, and transported for a mental health evaluation,” the website states.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Monday that he had no additional information about last week’s incident. He said he could not answer questions about whether state police were taking extra precautions in dealing with Dome.
Hashey testified last month that he feared for his life when he twice shot Dome, who approached him with a butcher knife in his hand. The trooper, one of many who went to Dome’s Edinburg home last summer, said Dome was marching toward him when he fired his weapon at a distance of about 10 feet.
A cruiser camera video recorded from when Hashey arrived at the end of Dome’s driveway to the time of the shootings, shown at Dome’s trial, clearly showed the knife in his hand.
At the end of the video, Hashey is seen backing away from the driveway. Dome is seen walking toward him with the knife and then he grimaces, grabs his crotch and falls to the ground. Hashey comes back into view and appears to kick away at something on the ground, apparently Dome’s knife.
Alice Clifford, assistant district attorney for Penobscot County, told jurors Dome called police using a fake name, telling the dispatcher that he “didn’t want to go on” and to bring the militia “because you’re going to need it.” He then followed through on his threats, she said.
Defense attorney Hunter Tzovarras of Bangor, in his opening statement, described Dome as a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who had run out of his medicine and was “having a really bad day.”
Dome testified that he blacked out after lunch and he woke up in the hospital with no memories of the event and that he learned what happened from the news.
He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 for the criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. His bail conditions include a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., during which he must remain at his home.