Judge sets bail at $5,000 cash

Bangor man charged in Rockland standoff appears in court

Tue, 02/13/2018 - 12:15pm

    ROCKLAND — A Bangor man who barricaded himself in a motel room at the Trade Winds Inn in Rockland, Sunday, Feb. 11, and was taken into custody after an hours-long standoff with police, remains in jail.

    Timothy N. St. Thomas, 61, of Bangor was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct using offensive words and gestures and disorderly conduct with loud noise in a private place.

    He appeared in Knox County Unified Court Feb. 12 where Judge Susan Sparaco set his bail at $5,000 cash with no third-party bail allowed.

    St. Thomas has a criminal record with the Bangor Police Department consisting of numerous drunk and disorderly and criminal trespassing complaints.

    According to the affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court by Rockland police, they responded to a call from the management at the Trade Winds Inn around 7 a.m. Feb. 11 about a disorderly man in his room.

    When police arrived at the scene, they found St. Thomas barricaded inside the room yelling, making no sense. When Officer Andrew Redden knocked at the door after identifying himself, the man responded with obscenities and said “I’m going to kill you,” according to the court document.

    For more than three hours, state and local police attempted various tactics for talking the man out of his room.

    At one point, St. Thomas stood on the balcony, yelling and cursing at police and at Rockland in general, while bystanders looked on from other hotel rooms, the parking lot, and the street. He then waved a long pole around for a few minutes before retreating back inside.

    Police tried again to draw him to the balcony by shouting to him, offering to help him as much as possible, and reminding him of his disrespect to the badge. They also tried appealing to his sense of hunger, knowing that he hadn’t eaten in a long time. The man did not return to the balcony.

    Around 12:45 p.m. when tactical team members from the Maine State police entered the room, the man began swinging a large stick, about 4-5 feet long at the officers, trying to strike them in the head and facial area and continuing to make more threats, said police.

    St. Thomas was taken into custody and went to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport for observation, as well as for a possible dog bite. He was then transported to the Knox County Jail. No one else was injured.

    Rockland Police Department was assisted by the Maine State Police Crisis Negotiating team and the Maine State Police Tactical team.  

    St. Thomas will be on supervised release after he is released from jail. The conditions of his release include that he cannot have any contact with Rockland Police Officer Andrew Redden, cannot possess any dangerous weapons, alcohol or drugs, and will be subject to random searches.

    He will appear in court again March 15.

    Reach Sarah Shepherd and Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com