BANGOR, Maine — A District Court judge has ordered that a 12-year-old boy accused of leading police on a vehicle chase through the streets of Bangor during the early morning hours of June 25 be detained while his case is pending.
The boy has been charged with eluding an officer, a felony, and unauthorized use of a vehicle, a misdemeanor, according to a document filed at the Penobscot Judicial Center. In a separate case, the juvenile is facing two misdemeanor charges related to an incident on May 3, when he allegedly took a school bus for a short joy ride in Bangor, which was caught on cellphone video by a passing driver.
The BDN is not yet naming the boy because his felony case in the juvenile justice system has not been adjudicated.
The boy, who is 5 feet 3 inches tall, made his first court appearance pertaining to the felony case on June 27, when Judge John Lucy issued the detention order, according to the petition.
Information about where the boy is being held was not available and is not public information. Other boys his age accused of felonies have been placed in therapeutic foster care instead of at one of the state’s two juvenile jails.
Bangor attorney Seth Harrow, who represents the juvenile, said the boy needs to have a grasp of the legal process before the case can move forward.
“As with any 12-year-old, I am concerned about his competency and ability to understand the charges, the proceedings and the consequences,” Harrow said Wednesday. “That is being properly looked into.”
A status conference is scheduled for Aug. 23, but Harrow did not expect the case would be resolved that quickly.
The boy will not be asked to enter pleas to the charges until it is determined that he is competent to do so.
Video from the dashboard camera of the police car driven by arresting officer Evan Haskell shows the driver ran stop signs and red lights, made wide and frequent turns and traveled at speeds of between 35 and 55 mph. The speed limit on most of the streets where the chase took place is 25 mph.
The dashboard camera video was obtained by the Bangor Daily News under the state’s Freedom of Access Act.
The boy allegedly took a 2011 Kia van registered to a relative. Haskell noticed the van on Ohio Street, near the intersection of Griffin Road, around 4 a.m., according to a previously published report. The van was driving without headlights, had front-end damage and was dragging part of the front bumper.
The vehicle was stopped after about eight minutes on Broadway between Center and Congress streets when Sgt. Jason Stuart rammed it in the side, police said in June. The driver was taken into custody without incident.
No one was injured, police have said. The video showed few other drivers were on the streets at the time of the incident.
Under Maine law, information about juveniles charged with misdemeanor crimes is sealed from public view. However, if they are charged with felonies, some information is public, including the juvenile’s name, birthdate, address and the names of parents or guardian.
The one-page petition, the equivalent of a complaint filed in a case involving an adult, does not say how the boy got the keys to the van or why he went for the early morning drive.
A crash report has not yet been filed with the Maine Department of Public Safety, according to a search of its website. Maine State Police are helping to reconstruct the boy’s route because a cruiser was involved in a crash.
In May, the boy was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and operating without a license, according to a previously published report. That case is pending, according to the Penobscot County district attorney’s office.
The bus was parked at the John T. Cyr and Sons lot on Ohio Street when it was taken around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, according to police.
The keys were in the vehicle when the boy got access to the bus.
The boy’s joy ride in the bus was captured on cellphone video by John W. St. Germain III, who spotted the stolen vehicle with his girlfriend. The pair subsequently began following the vehicle and called police.
St. Germain, who got onto the bus and intervened when it stopped at the intersection of Griffin Road and Ohio Street, was presented with a challenge coin by Bangor police a few days after the incident.
Adults convicted of the Class C crime of eluding an officer would face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
If convicted of this same crime, the boy could be confined to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland until he turns 21. Department of Corrections policies concerning juveniles also would allow the boy to be in therapeutic foster care until he is able to return home and refrain from criminal behavior.