A man who prompted police to issue a shelter-in-place order and surround a Rumford apartment last week only to find no one home, has been arrested in Westbrook.
Rumford and Maine State Police held the empty standoff on Oct. 14 after the department got information about suspected drug trafficking in an apartment on Waldo Street, along with complaints that people associated with the apartment had been periodically shooting guns in the neighborhood.
At the time, they announced the suspect as Blake Lachance, 21, of Lewiston, and alluded to additional suspects. Law enforcement subsequently brought in the Maine Violent Offender Task Force, which is led by the U.S. Marshals Service.
On Wednesday, the Marshals Service announced that Lachance had been arrested Tuesday, at a residence in Westbrook. Police had previously obtained a warrant for Lachance’s arrest on multiple felony state charges, including aggravated assault, aggravated reckless conduct and criminal mischief.
The Marshals Service said Lachance tried to flee but was apprehended without incident.
Multiple other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the search and arrest, including the Homeland Security Task Force, Lewiston Police Department, Westbrook Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and Southern Maine Regional SWAT team, which is led by the South Portland Police Department, according to the Marshals Service.
Lachance is awaiting his initial appearance on the state charges, according to the service.
