NORRIDGEWOCK — Authorities arrested three suspects involved in an armed robbery and assault in Norridgewock after a massive police search Wednesday that involved several agencies and prompted shelter-in-place advisories and school lockdowns.
Police responded to a robbery at a residence on Airport Road shortly after 8 a.m., according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
Three people — two men and one woman — entered the home, assaulted a resident, and took “an undisclosed amount of money,” Lancaster said in a news release. The resident did not sustain life-threatening injuries in the assault, Lancaster said.
Both male suspects were armed and all three suspects then fled into the woods after the incident, and the female suspect was located about a half of hour later off Route 2 in Norridgewock, Lancaster said. The identities of the suspects were not immediately available Wednesday evening.
“Deputies were quick to establish a perimeter,” Lancaster said. “Area schools were notified and locked down. The Waste Management facility and New Balance in Norridgewock were both notified and locked down.”
Somerset County Sheriff’s Office deputies place a jacket into a bag Wednesday during their investigation into a reported armed robbery in Norridgewock. A pair of suspects were arrested later that afternoon in connection with the incident. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
Around 1:30 p.m., the two male suspects were located at Baker Farm on Route 2 in Norridgewock and arrested “without incident,” Lancaster said. The privately-owned farmhouse is located near the Waste Management facility in Norridgewock, Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said.
Deputies closed Route 2 in Norridgewock for about half an hour while they made the arrests, Lancaster said.
The Sheriff’s Office has not yet been able to confirm the names of the suspects, according to Lancaster.
A search helicopter passes over Airport Road following a report of an armed robbery Wednesday in Norridgewock. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
“We’re working to positively identify them,” Lancaster said via phone call Wednesday evening, adding he expects to have more information on Thursday about the suspects and the charges they will face.
Police from several agencies, including the Fairfield and Skowhegan police departments, were involved in the search, according to the sheriff’s office.
Maine State Police tactical and crisis negotiation teams assisted investigators, according to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Tactical teams and a helicopter searching the woods around Airport Road could be seen during the search. Air support from the Maine Forest Service and the Maine State Police Airwing was requested, according to Lancaster.
“This case was an excellent example of all different law enforcement agencies, County, State, and Municipalities involved communicating and working together collaboratively towards a successful end,” Lancaster said in a statement.
A school lockout in all of Maine School Administrative District 54 schools was lifted around 1:40 p.m. after the arrests and parents were notified, superintendent Jon Moody said.
Moody said Wednesday morning the decision to place schools on lockout was made at the recommendation of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, and that there were no threats to students.
“We moved all of our schools into lockout out of an abundance of caution, even though there was no belief that there was a direct threat to schools,” Moody told the Morning Sentinel.
A Skowhegan police officer and vehicle are staged in the parking lot of Mill Stream Elementary School during a lockout of the school Wednesday in Norridgewock, following a report of an armed robbery. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
Moody described lockout protocol as “business as usual inside the school,” but said all exterior doors have been locked and students are not allowed to leave the building. Police are present at the schools “out of an abundance of caution,” Moody said.
Richard LaBelle, Norridgewock’s town manager, said residents were advised Wednesday morning to stay inside and lock their doors until law enforcement “can resolve the issue,” with reports that police were searching the area for armed suspects.
“Waste Management, New Balance, all of SAD 54 public schools, the Cornville Charter School, the town office, everybody is in lock down, and folks are recommended to shelter in place,” LaBelle said Wednesday morning. “People just need to listen to (law enforcement’s) guidance and their guidance to us here at the town was to stay put in lockdown.”
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