A Hancock man accused of killing a lobsterman’s pug who had not been seen since violating his bail conditions nearly six months ago was arrested over the weekend in Gouldsboro.
Nathan A. Burke, 38, was arrested without incident on multiple charges after Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor police, the Maine Warden Service and Maine Marine Patrol responded to a domestic violence call on Dyer Lane, according to the Gouldsboro Police Department.
Additional details about his arrest and charges were not immediately available.
Burke had not been seen since Aug. 25, 2019, when he was charged with violating his bail conditions in the dog killing case after police responded to a complaint of a possible domestic assault at the campground at Lamoine State Park. Police determined there had been no physical altercation, but found Burke in possession of Corona and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and a loaded firearm.
Burke was given a summons, but he missed scheduled court dates on Aug. 30 and Oct. 9.
Burke and 24-year-old Justin Chipman of Steuben were charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated criminal mischief, burglary and theft in connection with the August 2018 killing of a pug named Franky owned by Winter Harbor fisherman Phil Torrey.
The men were accused of entering Torrey’s home when the lobsterman was out of state and taking Torrey’s Hummer for a ride with Franky before allegedly shooting the pug. Franky’s body was found wrapped in plastic and washed up on a beach in Winter Harbor a few days later. The duo turned themselves in to police in early September 2018.
Torrey told the BDN in September 2018 that Burke worked as his sternman, and Chipman also crewed his boat the previous winter.
After a one-day bench trial in an Ellsworth courtroom, Chipman was convicted in November 2019 of all the charges except aggravated criminal mischief. He was instead convicted of a lesser charge of criminal mischief.
Burke spent 70 days in Hancock County Jail last winter after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend in Ellsworth in February 2019. He was sentenced to time served and released in May after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and violating conditions of release, but the bail conditions stemming from the charges related to Franky’s death remained in effect.