NEWFIELD — A Kennebunk man who told sheriff’s deputies that a former girlfriend had stolen his vehicle was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly attempted to retrieve the car.

The incident played out around 10:30 p.m. Monday on Bond Spring Road when Jason Ames, 36, of Kennebunk reported to deputies that his vehicle had been stolen and that he has been assaulted.

As it turned out however, Ames was the one charged with assault.

“(The) investigation revealed that Ames found the vehicle in a private driveway, and his former girlfriend was in the vehicle at the time,” said York County Sheriff William King in a statement. “He tried to forcibly remove her from the vehicle, and she resisted. A struggle ensued and several men came to the aid of the woman, who was visually upset.”

Ames allegedly assaulted two of the men that tried to intervene, King said.

The sheriff said the vehicle is registered to Ames, but the victim told deputies she had permission to have it and she had made arrangements to buy it. 

Ames was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor Class D counts of assault and one Class D count of domestic violence assault.

As of noon Tuesday, he remained in custody at York County Jail in Alfred in lieu of $5,000 bail, the sheriff said.

A Class D misdemeanor carries a maximum jail term of one year, upon conviction.