HOULTON, Maine — A local man convicted last year of a federal offense for threatening to kill a European economist was arrested again at his home Tuesday night and charged with kidnapping and domestic violence.
Dushko Venelinov Vulchev, 39, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Bulgaria, was charged after the parents of Vulchev’s girlfriend had contacted the police to say they were concerned about their daughter’s safety, according to Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna.
When police went to his home and Vulchev would not respond, the officers obtained a search warrant to force in the door.
McKenna said Wednesday that Vulchev had taken the woman’s cellphone and keys so that she could not leave the house or call for help.
Vulchev also was charged with theft, according to McKenna.
In 2015, Vulchev served about seven months in prison after he was charged in U.S. District Court with one count of threats in foreign commerce after sending an email threatening to kill an economist and administrator with the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium.
“I will kill you like chickens,” Vulchev said in the email.
The FBI traced the email to Vulchev, who, with permission, had used a Houlton neighbor’s wireless Internet connection.