BANGOR

Handgun charges could lead to year in jail

A 19-year-old man could spend a year in jail if he is convicted on charges that he carried a 9 mm handgun into a restaurant.

Bangor police say Alex Clendenning had the weapon in his belt when he went into the Denny’s restaurant early Sunday, scaring people in the restaurant.

When police arrived, they say, Clendenning was sitting with two other men. Officers saw a magazine for the gun on the table with one bullet.

The Bangor Daily News said Clendenning did not have a record with Bangor police.

He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and terrorizing.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Police charge suspect with robbing supermarkets

Portland police say they arrested a 45-year-old man on Tuesday in connection with two supermarket robberies that took place at stores in South Portland.

Lt. Mike Jones said Howard Gribbin was arrested on Weymouth Street on two outstanding warrants from South Portland, charging him with robbery.

Gribbin is suspected of robbing the clerk at the service desk of the Hannaford supermarket on Philbrook Road, near the Maine Mall, at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The man left without getting any cash.

Police say he may have left in a U-Haul truck. They interviewed the person who rented the truck and was driving it, but it appears the driver may have given the robber a ride unwittingly, police said.

Police said surveillance video indicates that the suspect is the same man who robbed the Shaw’s supermarket on Waterman Drive at 6 p.m. Monday.

A man in his late 40s, with a moustache and a goatee and wearing a green jacket and a red baseball cap, mentioned a gun and demanded money, police said. He left with an undetermined amount of money.

AUGUSTA

Maurer named director of state agency on aging

A longtime lawyer with the state Attorney General’s Office has taken the top position with an association that advocates for older Mainers.

Jessica Maurer has been hired as executive director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging, which represents the state’s five area agencies.

Maurer worked for the Attorney General’s Office for nearly 20 years. In the past seven years, she worked extensively on issues affecting Maine’s senior population, including prescription drug pricing, end-of-life care and elder abuse.

Pingree back from visit to Guantanamo prison

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree has visited detention facilities at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, along with other members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Pingree, who returned Monday night, traveled with a bipartisan delegation to inspect the prison, where 173 detainees are now being held.

The Maine Democrat says closing the prison at Guantanamo is in the best interests of the United States. She says there’s a variety of alternatives to keeping detainees at Guantanamo, including returning more of them to their home countries.