ACTON — John Charron spent Tuesday night and much of Wednesday at York County Jail in Alfred after he was charged with driving his plow truck into another car occupied by two young men.
But Charron said that’s not what happened.
“These guys were tearing up my road and they crashed into my truck,” Charron said Thursday outside his home in Acton, a small community in western York County near the New Hampshire state line. “Then they leave and crash their car down the road and I’m the one who gets charged?”
According to a news release from York County Sheriff William King, deputies were called to settle a disturbance on Langley Shores Road, a gravel stretch near the eastern side of Great East Lake. Someone called police shortly before 11 p.m. to report that cars were peeling tires, and people were yelling.
Upon investigating, deputies determined that a feud between Charron and two young neighbors had “boiled over,” and that Charron “drove at them with his plow raised and struck the victim’s vehicle with the plow blade going over the hood.”
Charron, 53, identified the two young men but York County officials would not name them. Attempts to reach them Thursday were not successful. The two suffered minor injuries.
Charron said he was at home late Tuesday when he heard cars speeding by his house. He suspected he knew who was responsible because he has had issues with the two young men before.
“They’re always on me,” he said. “They’ve stolen stuff from my shed.”
Charron said he heard a crash and went outside. That’s when he said he saw a small sedan crashed into the back of his plow truck parked in his driveway. The car, he said, then took off toward the lake. Charron said he got into his plow truck and followed. He came upon the car off the road only a few hundred feet from his house.
According to the sheriff’s office, witnesses said they saw Charron drive his plow truck to the end of his neighbor’s driveway and heard him yelling threats. The victims told police that Charron then drove at their car and struck the vehicle with the plow blade.
Charron admitted he was upset about what happened but denied driving into the other vehicle. He said the car was already off the road when he got there and the damage it sustained was from running into his truck. He pointed to his plow, which Thursday appeared not to have any scratches or paint on it. He then pointed to the back of the truck, where he said the car actually hit, and showed broken glass, dents and paint marks on the rear bumper.
However, after talking to the parties involved, police arrested Charron and charged him with aggravated reckless conduct, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and criminal threatening, a misdemeanor. He posted bail of $3,000 cash Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to make his first appearance in York County Superior Court on April 8.
Charron does not have a criminal history in Maine, according to state records, and said he’s upset that police don’t believe his side of the story.
King, reached by telephone Thursday, said the incident report would not be released until after Charron’s case is adjudicated. He also declined to make any of the deputies who responded to the incident available to speak to a reporter.
Asked about Charron’s version of events, King said deputies did speak to Charron. But King said he doesn’t think the incident report will change.
Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:
Twitter: PPHEricRussell
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