Last and first arrests of the old and new year

Oxford County – The first person arrested in the new year, 2011, was Kurt Staples, 37, of Norway, arrested by Norway Police Officer Jeff Campbell a few minutes after midnight on New Year's. He was charged with drunk driving – again.

According to Campbell, he was told by the Oxford County Regional Communications Center (OCRCC) to be alert for a particular car being driven “all over the road.” The officer saw the vehicle but had to turn around. In doing so, the officer lost track of it. He finally caught up with the car at a Paris convenience store.

It was determined by the officer, when he ran Staples' driver's license through the patrol car computer, that his man had a prior drunk-driving arrest and, as a consequence, his license was conditional on not consuming alcohol-based beverages prior to driving. In effect, this condition cancels out the license if the individual has any alcohol in his or her bloodstream. The Intoxilyzer administered at the Oxford County Jail confirmed the results of Campbell's observations and Staples' failure of the “field sobriety test." There was no question that Staples was drunk – with a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the .08 legal maximum for driving.

As a result of the evidence, Staples was charged with operating under the influence and driving without a license. Since the original OUI was more than 10 years ago, he was not charged with second offense under the statute, but the license restriction was still in effect.

Taylor J. Lowell, 18, of Norway, was the last person arrested in 2010.

Norway Police Officer Holli Pullen took Lowell to the jail at 5:30 in the afternoon of New Year's Eve, charging her with domestic assault at 40 Whitman Street, Norway. Details of the arrest were not available by press time.

However, just as it seemed the holiday weekend would be the most quiet in memory, the jail suddenly got busy just after midnight on Sunday evening, the second and third days of the new year.

Campbell again was at the jail's door with a prisoner, as were State Trooper Jason Wing, Oxford Police Officer Alan Coffin and Paris Officer Nate Bowie, all of whom arrived with more prisoners within minutes.

Late Sunday night, Campbell had been directed by a dispatcher to check on a complaint of noise emanating from an apartment at 59 Bartlett Street, Norway. According to Campbell's report, the officers had to bang on the door for several minutes before it was answered. Once the police were inside, they found evidence that a lot of liquor had been consumed.

The tenant of record, Amanda Meserve, 21, who the officers said was intoxicated, claimed she hadn't opened the door more rapidly because she'd been sleeping, as had her guest, Nickolas Davis, 20, of Auburn. They claimed to be surprised when the officers told the people in the closet to come out.

Since not all of the partiers were cooperative, a few were charged with disorderly conduct. All were accused of illegal possession of liquor by a minor, and Meserve was charged with providing a place for minors to consume alcohol. The minors arrested were Nickolas Davis, 20, of Auburn, Isaac Davis, 18, of Minot, and Oliver S. Kissick, 19, of Norway. Patrick Fortin, 20, of Norway, and Suzanne Cote, 20, of Washington, DC, were issued summonses and not taken into custody. Two other minors present at the party had not been drinking, and were not charged.