OLD TOWN, Maine — The University of Maine student who allegedly tried to break into a Bennoch Road home while wearing a mask and holding a gun early Sunday morning was taken to Penobscot County Jail and charged Monday with burglary, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and criminal mischief, an Old Town police official said.
The homeowner was inside the residence at the time, according to police.
Old Town police charged Luke Cushman-Cole, 21, of Fletchers Landing Township with the offenses around 3 p.m., Old Town police Sgt. Michael Hashey said in an update late Monday afternoon.
The burglary charge filed against Cushman-Cole is a Class A felony that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000, while the threatening charge is a Class C crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
The student was arrested in his dorm room on campus after the attempted break-in, according to a news release issued by Old Town police Sgt. Lee Miller on Sunday.
Miller said that shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday, Old Town police were called to investigate a report that someone wearing a mask and holding a gun was trying to enter a residence on Bennoch Road.
“The homeowner was able to keep the subject from entering the home, and the suspect fled,” Miller said over the weekend.
Officer Keith Emery was on his way to the home when he saw a vehicle pass him in the opposite direction near the residence.
“He did not know at that time if the suspect had a vehicle, and the information he had was the suspect was still on scene,” Miller said. Emery did record the plate number.
When Emery spoke to the homeowner, he learned that the suspect fled in a vehicle and headed toward Stillwater, so Emery told dispatchers the plate number and learned the vehicle was linked to Cushman-Cole and that he was a student.
University of Maine police later found the vehicle with its rear plate removed.
“There also was evidence of the crime in the vehicle,” Miller said, though he didn’t specify what that evidence was.
Officers from Old Town, Orono, the university and Veazie went to Cushman-Cole’s dorm room and spoke with him through the door, which he barricaded. Because of the seriousness of the crime and risk of a firearm being involved, the dorm was evacuated and the Maine State Police tactical team was called.
“While waiting for the tactical team, officers believed that they could hear the subject attempting to harm himself, and due to those circumstances, they forced entry into the room,” Miller said. “It was determined that the subject had attempted to harm himself. The subject was taken into custody after resisting arrest.”
Old Town police conducted a search, with a warrant, on the dorm room and vehicle.
The investigation is still active and additional charges may follow, Hashey said.
Cushman-Cole remained behind bars Monday night, unable to post bail set at $25,000 cash, a jail official confirmed.
Bangor Daily News writer Nick McCrea contributed to this report.