A Pittsfield man is facing several charges after a wild couple of days in which a vehicle in Madison was stolen and spotted in Jackman, a camp was destroyed by fire, and a person was found trespassing at a local hotel.
Mark Jonathan Walston, 50, of Pittsfield is charged with theft by unauthorized use of property, criminal trespassing and theft of services after allegedly stealing a vehicle in Madison on Monday and later trespassing in a Jackman hotel on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a burglary and arson charge were added.
Somerset County Chief Deputy Michael Mitchell said in a phone call Tuesday night that Deputy Racean Wood responded to the report of a stolen vehicle Monday around 7:15 a.m. on the Lakewood Road in Madison.
The owner of the 2013 Toyota Camry reported stolen said that there was a loaded firearm in the vehicle, stored out of sight. The report said that the owner was warming up the car in the driveway. When the owner returned to the driveway, the car was gone.
The stolen vehicle report was shared among other agencies. Within a few hours, U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted the vehicle at Trailside One Stop, a convenience store and gas station on Main Street in Jackman.
“Agents found a vehicle matching the description and while they were running the plates, the individual driving the vehicle got in it and left,” Mitchell said. The operator of the vehicle was later identified as Walston.
The vehicle was heading southbound on U.S. Route 201 in Jackman, but the agents did not have an exact idea where the vehicle was going. The vehicle was found on an unplowed road in Parlin Pond, about 20 minutes south of Jackman. Fresh tracks were found in the snow. Agents tried to stop and identify the driver, who was not cooperating.
When Somerset County Sheriff’s officers and Maine State Police arrived at the scene to assist, the suspect left the vehicle and took off into the woods on foot, dropping a crossbow along the way. After pursuing the suspect for about an hour, officers lost him.
The vehicle was recovered with the firearm in the same place it was left.
On Tuesday at noontime, a structure fire was reported at a camp on Long Pond near Jackman. Jackman-Moose River Fire and Rescue responded along with West Forks Volunteer Fire Department, Rockwood Fire & Rescue, U.S. Border Patrol, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of State Fire Marshal.
Mitchell said that at the time of the fire, Deputy Brian Crater was interviewing a witness who said a man fitting Walstron’s description was first seen near the site of the fire and then heading into Jackman. Bill Jarvis, fire chief at Jackman-Moose River’s department, said that the camp sits on an unplowed road and appeared to have been broken into, with fresh footprints in the snow leading to and from the property.
The cause and details about the fire are not known, but the fire chief said that the property was a total loss. The fire marshal’s office has not returned any calls. Crews were at the scene until around 3:30 p.m.
“Deputy Crater informed me that he spoke to somebody (at the fire) who apparently knew that Walston got a ride from the geographical area of the fire into town,” Mitchell said.
Moments after this conversation, dispatchers received a 911 call about a person trespassing at a Jackman hotel.
“Shortly after they were called in for the fire, there was a 911 report of an intruder at the Northland Hotel saying that they heard footsteps in a room above them on a floor that is vacant,” Mitchell said.
Border Patrol Agents along with Crater searched the rooms and found Walston inside. He was arrested without incident.
Several investigations are underway, including how Walston ended up in Madison on Monday morning and how he acquired a crossbow. Mitchell said that arson and burglary charges were added after communicating with the fire marshal’s office. No additional details were available.
Several attempts to contact the fire marshal’s office have been unsuccessful.
“There are multiple investigations being conducted,” Mitchell said. “We don’t know how he ended up in this driveway in Madison. The bottom line is, for safety, if you are going to warm your vehicle up outside of your residence because of the cold temperatures, you might want to lock the door so somebody can’t drive off with it.”
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