Renan Modesto Noralez Dolmo, 30, of Honduras (Photo courtesy Wiscasset Police Department)
A Honduran man wanted on felony burglary charges in Ohio was arrested following a traffic stop and roughly 11-hour pursuit in Wiscasset.
Renan Modesto Noralez Dolmo, 30, faces charges of eluding an officer, a Class C felony; aggravated driving to endanger, a Class C felony; refusing to submit to arrest or detention, a Class D misdemeanor; providing a false name and date of birth, a Class E misdemeanor; criminal speeding, a Class E misdemeanor; and operating without a license, a Class E misdemeanor. In addition, he is facing a Class C felony charge as a fugitive from justice due to the arrest warrants for burglary and armed burglary in Ohio.
He is currently in custody at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset under an immigration detainer from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as he admitted to being in the country unlawfully, according to Wiscasset Police Chief Larry Hesseltine.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Public Affairs did not respond to a request to comment by print deadline.
According to a press release by Hesseltine, the incident began when officers conducted a traffic stop on Bath Road in Wiscasset around 12:40 p.m. on March 7. The vehicle operator, later identified as Dolmo, provided a name and date of birth from a temporary Ohio registration.
U.S. Border Patrol arrived on the scene within minutes and began speaking with Dolmo. A records check by U.S. Border Patrol indicated the identity he provided was false, and, when questioned, Dolmo admitted to being in the country unlawfully, according to Hesseltine.
Shortly after, Dolmo suddenly drove away and fled northbound on Bath Road at a high speed, with the pursuit by authorities reaching over 100 mph.
The chase ended at Islebrook Village at Wiscasset, an assisted living facility currently under construction at 146 Gardiner Road. It was determined that Dolmo was employed at the site, according to Hesseltine. Dolmo fled on foot into
the woods, climbing 20-30 feet up a tree to evade capture.
After nearly four hours, officers decided to leave the immediate area for safety reasons and obtain a warrant for Dolmo’s arrest, according to Hesseltine.
At that time, Dolmo’s real identity was confirmed with a passport found in his vehicle, according to Hesseltine.
Officers returned to the site at 146 Gardiner Road and tracked Dolmo into the building.
“Due to the complexity of the 140,000 (square foot) site – containing 104 one- and two-bedroom units under construction without power – locating the suspect proved challenging,” said Hesseltine.
K-9 units from the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office picked up Dolmo’s trail, which led them to an attic area, where he was encountered “multiple times,” according to the press release.
“At one point, he armed himself with a hammer and later fell through a ceiling, but each time, he managed to evade arrest,” said Hesseltine. “His familiarity with the building, having worked there, provided him an advantage.”
After a four-and-a-half-hour search of the building, officers contained Dolmo to the roof, where he was taken into custody around 11:30 p.m.
The Wiscasset Police Department was assisted by the Wiscasset Fire Department, Wiscasset EMS, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine Warden Service, Maine State Police, and U.S. Border Patrol.
“We would like to express our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to all agencies involved,” said Hesseltine. “This was a collaborative effort that could not have been accomplished without the dedication and teamwork in bringing this situation to a safe resolution.”
On Friday, March 7, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston field office lodged an immigration detainer against Dolmo. An immigration detainer is a request to state and local law enforcement to notify the federal agency as early as possible before a “removable noncitizen” is released from their custody, according to the agency.
Detainers request law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing the agency’s Enforcement Removal Operations to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.
Islebrook Village at Wiscasset is one of Everbrook Senior Living’s seven communities. Everbrook Senior Living Chief Operating Officer Robert Kelley said Optimus Construction Management, of Massachusetts, is overseeing and building the project.
On behalf of Optimus Construction Management, Kelley said Dolmo was hired by a subcontractor out of Indiana and was never employed by Optimus Construction Management or any affiliate.
Kelley added that it’s a standard requirement to have a subcontractor verify immigration status of its employees, and that all workers must have proper paperwork to prove status.
“Recently, (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was on site and verified paperwork for all workers on the job, and that work resumed quickly,” Kelley said. “It appears from reports that (Dolmo) knew that his papers were not in order because he had not disclosed evidence of some alleged criminal activities.”
Optimus Construction Management has requested that the subcontractor review its procedures to “make sure that every worker on the job is able to pass ICE checks,” Kelley said.
“Optimus (Construction Management) is preparing to take additional steps to ensure that the community of Wiscasset will not have to deal with any appearance of a public safety concern with regard to the presence of criminal undocumented workers specifically and undocumented workers as a whole,” Kelley said.
