BATH — Following his Oct. 7 arrest on a charge of operating under the influence, the correctional administrator for Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday.
After an executive session, the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority unanimously placed Mark Westrum of Bath, a former longtime sheriff of Sagadahoc County, on leave until its next regular meeting, to be held Nov. 9.
“The action is taken in accordance with Two Bridges Regional Jail policy and procedure, and ensures that daily operations continue uninterrupted,” according to a statement from the authority.
Corrections Capt. James Bailey has taken on the duties of administrator, pending further authority action.
The correctional administrator for Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, a former longtime sheriff of Sagadahoc County, was arrested the night of Friday, Oct. 7, in Bath and charged with operating under the influence.
Westrum, 55, also serves as chairman of the state Board of Corrections. He has been administrator of the jail for more than eight years, and he previously served as sheriff in Sagadahoc County from 1993 to 2008.
Westrum was arrested about 9:45 p.m. Oct. 7 on Front Street near the Hampton Inn after longtime Bath police Officer Mike Lever allegedly spotted his vehicle operating without lights, according to the department’s public access report released Tuesday morning.
“Indications are that the operator, Westrum, was under the influence,” Bath police Lt. Robert Savary said Tuesday morning. “After an investigation at roadside, Officer Lever and Sgt. (Mike) Lathrop arrested him for the crime of operating under the influence.”
Savary declined to release additional information about the arrest except to say that Westrum was “cooperative.”
Police did not take a mug shot of Westrum, he said.
Westrum was released from the Bath police station on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to appear in West Bath District Court on Nov. 22.
Mary Trescot, chairwoman of the Lincoln Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority, could not immediately be reached for comment. Members of the authority’s executive committee, which includes sheriffs of both counties, declined to comment.
Phone calls to Westrum’s office at Two Bridges Regional Jail were redirected to the office of Lt. William Frith, who did not immediately return a phone call on Tuesday.
In 2008, Westrum, a Republican, resigned as sheriff of Sagadahoc County to become administrator of Two Bridges Regional Jail. Before his resignation, he was accused by a former employee of inappropriately touching him on his thigh during a 2006 fishing trip on the Kennebec River. Westrum denied the allegations, and during a formal investigation, both he and the employee passed polygraph tests. The investigator ultimately concluded that he did not have enough evidence to prove that the incident took place.
Westrum
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