BANGOR

Rockport man guilty of pharmacy robbery

A Rockport man has pleaded guilty to robbing a pharmacy in Millinocket with a gun.

Prosecutors said Nicholas Skoby, 30, was accused of robbing the Rite Aid pharmacy in August with a handgun.

Court records show Skoby stole money and controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday that he will face as much as 20 years in prison if convicted of robbery, followed by a mandatory minimum of five or seven years for using a firearm in the robbery.

EAST MACHIAS

Speed, alcohol suspected in crash that killed teenager

State police say speed and alcohol are likely factors in a crash in East Machias that killed a teenager.

Francis Finn, 16, of Whiting died instantly in the crash late Sunday morning. Finn was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by Aaron Foss, 20, of East Machias that crashed on Route 191. Foss suffered bumps and bruises.

Police say Foss was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado at high speed when the truck went airborne on a slight knoll and hit a utility pole and tree.

A crash report will be presented to the district attorney’s office before any decision is made on whether to charge Foss.

AUBURN

Two-car collision kills man and leaves two injured

Police say one person died and two people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash in the city.

Police said Rick Farr was driving east on Minot Avenue about 10:30 a.m. Sunday when he collided with a westbound Jeep hauling a trailer, driven by Matthew Harris of Arundel. Farr, 43, was killed instantly.

Harris was taken to a hospital in critical condition. His passenger, Sherri Walkeling, 35, was hospitalized with less serious injuries.

Police said Harris may have had a medical emergency just before the crash. The accident remains under investigation.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Police officer of year earns the honor a second time

South Portland police have selected Scott Corbett as Officer of the Year for 2011, his second time receiving the honor.

Corbett was commended for success in seizing drugs and drug proceeds, bringing charges against numerous people for fraudulent inspection stickers and assisting people in the city who were in crisis, said a statement from the department.

Corbett, a second-shift officer who joined the department in 1998, is assigned a police dog, Harley. Corbett will receive two days off with pay, a plaque and an award pin to be worn on his uniform.

AUGUSTA

Bill seeks to zap software that assists tax evaders

So-called tax zapper computer programs that help tax cheats in Maine would be banned under a bill up for legislative review.

The Taxation Committee this afternoon holds a work session on Rep. Seth Berry’s bill, LD 1764, which is aimed at software programs that falsify electronic sales records so businesses can underreport the totals and lower their sales tax bills. Berry said no vote was expected today.

Berry, a Democrat from Bowdoinham, says the state loses about $10 million a year in revenues because of the zapper programs. The tax-evading programs have been detected in other states and countries and now Maine tax officials are expressing concerns about them.

Berry’s bill would reduce penalties for those who correct and fully report any previously underreported sales records before Sept. 1, 2012.

FAIRFIELD

Business owner charged again with drug trafficking

Police arrested a 62-year-old man on Saturday for the second time in five months on a charge of trafficking in the synthetic hallucinogenic drug known as bath salts.

The arrest of John Linscott came during a search at his business by Fairfield police and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, said Police Chief John Emery.

More than 80 packets of bath salts were seized, as well as $10,000 in cash.

Linscott was taken to the Somerset County Jail in East Madison, where he is being held without bail on a charge of violating the conditions of his release, according to a jail intake worker.

Linscott was arrested on a similar charge in September at his Bargains ‘R’ Us store on Main Street, where police intercepted a 200-packet shipment of the drug. It was the same business where police reported finding 165 packages of the synthetic drug hidden in a scooter seat earlier that week.

Bath salts contain synthetic chemicals that can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rate and suicidal thoughts.

The drug was banned in Maine in July.

PUTNEY, Vt.

Seven suspected in burglaries in Maine, 4 other states

Seven people are suspected in a burglary ring that police say is linked to about 100 burglaries in five states, Vermont State Police said Monday.

Most of the burglaries – 60 of them – took place in Vermont. Another 30 were in New Hampshire, plus four in Maine, four in Massachusetts and one in Virginia, police said following a multistate investigation.

“Investigations are still ongoing, far reaching, and new crimes are linked every week,” Vermont State Police said.

Four suspects were arrested Saturday; two were in custody in New Hampshire on unrelated charges; and authorities were looking for the seventh – Logan Critchfield, 21, of Walpole, N.H., police said.

The thieves mostly targeted small businesses without alarm systems, often breaking through a window in the early morning hours to take cash and other items, police said.

Arrested were: Criscenzo Ruggiero, 20, of Westminster; Travis Noyes, 20, of Saxtons River; Lance Thomas, 18, of Rockingham; and Christopher Goldschmidt, 18, of Athens. Police were seeking arrest warrants for Cody Loewe, 20, whose last known address was in Bellows Falls, and Dillon Lange of Alstead, N.H., who were already in custody.