John Burbank, 34, of Jefferson, was arrested May 13, outside his Goose Hill Road home, after allegedly threatening a municipal road crew.
The arrest came when Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of “an armed male who was impaired and intimidating a road crew performing work at that location,” according to a press release from the LCSO.
When they arrived at the scene, deputies learned Burbank had entered his home located at 288 Goose Hill Rd., in Jefferson and refused requests to exit.
Assisted by units from the Maine Warden Service and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the perimeter around Burbank’s house was secured and an attempt was made to convince him to exit the residence unarmed.
Following a 45-minute negotiation, Burbank did exit his home unarmed and was placed into custody and transported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Wiscasset to be interviewed.
Following that interview and others with members of the road crew, Burbank was charged with the felony offense of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and the civil offense of creating a police standoff.
Following the arrest, a warrant was obtained and a search made of the residence.
“During this search deputies removed numerous weapons including a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun that appears to the weapon Mr. Burbank was wearing when he confronted the road crew working on the public way,” the press release said.
Jefferson Road Commissioner Alan Johnston said May 14 that he and a crew were involved in ditching work on Goose Hill Road when Burbank came out of his house “with a gun on his belt.”
“He came out in the morning and he came out in the afternoon, and he was intoxicated.” Johnston said. “The only thing he said in the morning was he wanted the dirt thrown on his mother’s property across the street. That’s the only words we exchanged.”
He said Burbank also spoke with a flagger in the afternoon, and then asked Johnston why his [Burbank’s] sister’s car was on his front lawn.
“I said I didn’t have any idea,” Johnston said. “That’s when I called the sheriff because I saw the gun.”
Johnston said he was not afraid but “thought it was unusual to see a gun.”
He said the LCSO personnel first visited the site in the morning.
“He [Burbank] shut us down for about 35 minutes,” Johnston said. “We didn’t know where he was and I wasn’t sure what his intentions were.”
As of Wednesday morning, May 14, Burbank was being held on $2500 cash bail at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
