The Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed charges against a local businessman in connection with the disappearance of an antique automobile from Nobleboro.
Brian D. Cookson, 54, of Nobleboro, had one count each of class B theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and class C burglary, both felonies, dismissed during a court appearance Monday, April 8.
According to court documents, the charges were dismissed due to developments affecting the strength of the case against Cookson, as well as Cookson’s compensation of the vehicle’s buyer in Rhode Island.
Detectives with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office located and recovered the antique car in Rhode Island, where it had been sold to an unsuspecting third party, according to a press release from the agency at the time of Cookson’s arrest. The vehicle was returned intact to its owner in Maine.
Cookson was represented by Peter Rodway, an attorney with the firm Rodway & Horodyski, of Portland. Rodway had entered a plea of not guilty on his client’s behalf in November 2018.
Rodway did not respond to a request for comment.
LCSO detectives arrested Cookson in Edgecomb on Nov. 2, 2018, according to the agency’s press release. The arrest followed what the agency described as an intensive investigation into the theft of a 1930 Ford Model A from a Nobleboro garage.
The value of the vehicle is about $10,000, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cookson owns B & B Tree Service.
