BANGOR, Maine — Armed with a loaded shotgun and a blowtorch, a Portland man who caused a six-hour standoff with Bangor police drove to the home of his ex-fiancee early Sunday and threatened to shoot and burn her and her new boyfriend, according to a police affidavit filed Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Nicholas Condon, 27, wanted to force police to shoot him, the court document stated.
Condon, who left Portland at 3 a.m., went to Walmart in Bangor about 3½ hours later and purchased ammunition, duct tape, two small crowbars, a folding knife and a blowtorch kit before going to his former girlfriend’s house on Union Street and breaking down the front door, according to the affidavit.
Condon, who was arrested Sunday at 831 Union St., made his first court appearance Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center on two counts of kidnapping and burglary with a firearm. He appeared by videoconference from the Penobscot County Jail.
District Court Judge Gregory Campbell set bail at $100,000 cash. Bail conditions include no contact with the alleged victims, a 23-year-old woman, described as Condon’s ex-girlfriend, and a 27-year-old man, described as the woman’s new boyfriend. Condon also may not return to 831 Union St. or possess guns or dangerous weapons if he makes bail.
He remained Monday night at the jail unable to make bail.
On Monday, Condon was dressed in a sleeveless smock given to inmates on suicide watch, according to jail personnel.
Condon told police Sunday while he was being evaluated at the emergency room at Eastern Maine Medical Center after his arrest that up until a month ago, he had lived with his fiancee at the Union Street house, according to the affidavit. After a breakup that Condon said left him devastated, he moved to Portland to live with his father, according to the affidavit.
“Mr. Condon told us that he did not plan to do anything, that he had just come to see if [the man] was with [the woman],” Detective Tim Shaw said in the affidavit. “He stated that when he arrived at the residence, he went to the windows and looked inside and saw [the couple] in bed, and they were ‘cuddling’ with each other.
“Mr. Condon stated that he became enraged, grabbed his shotgun from his car and broke the front door open,” Shaw said. “He stated that he went inside and woke them up. He then advised that he fired two shots in the house. One of them was into the bedroom ceiling, and the other one was into the television. Mr. Condon stated that he wanted to die at that point and wanted the police to shoot him.”
Condon had the woman call police, according to the affidavit. When police arrived shortly after 8 a.m., he reportedly shot at them through the front door. At the hospital, Condon said the gun had gone off accidentally, and he did not intend to fire at police, according to the affidavit.
“Mr Condon told us that he let [the woman] go because he did not want her to get hurt,” Shaw said. “He stated that he eventually let [the man] go because [he] was being so good with him. Mr. Condon stated that [the man] was being cooperative and lighting his cigarettes for him and that he decided to let him go.”
Condon told police that if the man had not cooperated, he would have “blown his [expletive] brains out,” according to the affidavit.
After negotiating with police for several hours, Condon surrendered about 2:15 p.m. after tear gas was lobbed into the Union Street house.
Police found a 1997 Red Dodge Stratus with a Maine license plate registered to Condon parked in the health care mall parking lot not far from the house. Information about what was found in it was not included in the affidavit.
The woman told police that Condon woke the couple up and made them get out of bed.
“She stated that he had made [the man] kneel down while he threatened to shoot both of them multiple times. [Condon] also advised her that he was thinking about tying them both up and then using a blowtorch on them,” the affidavit said.
Condon told the couple he had left the blowtorch in his car, according to the affidavit.
The defendant, who has no criminal history, was not asked to enter pleas to the charges because he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. The grand jury next convenes on Feb. 25, but Roberts said after the hearing Monday that he did not expect to present the case to the grand jury until March 25.
The defendant is next scheduled to appear in court on April 8.
If convicted, Condon faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $50,000 on each of the charges.
BDN writer Nick McCrea contributed to his report.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.