Central Maine News: Winslow Man Charged with Stealing More than $15,000 from a Youth Soccer

These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

Maine's attorney general says the state needs to tighten laws that protect elderly residents from financial exploitation. Attorney General Janet Mills' Task Force on Financial Crimes Against the Elderly is calling for the changes in a new report. The report says Maine suffers from barriers to the prosecution of people who exploit the elderly. It says law enforcement agencies are not always equipped to dedicate investigators to collect and analyze financial records. The task force also cites a "pervasive" lack of training about elder exploitation among law enforcement and prosecutors. The Mills report estimates 33,000 elderly Maine residents will be abused in 2015. The figure is based on a federal Department of Justice estimate that one in nine people over the age of 60 will be abused or exploited. (AP)

Maine police say it is unlikely that criminal charges will follow a massive Interstate 95 pileup involving dozens of cars in February. State police released a summary of their findings and conclusions about the crash. The crash happened on I-95 northbound around Etna on Feb. 25. The report increases the total number of vehicles involved in the crash from 75 to 102. It says another 40 vehicles likely had damage that didn't require reporting to police. 32 people were injured. The report says weather conditions such as snowfall and limited visibility played a role in the crash. The roadway was also obstructed by a vehicle that had been involved in a previous crash. Some drivers were also going too fast for the conditions. (AP)

A Maine government survey says the average statewide cash price for heating oil fell 5 cents in the past week. The Governor's Energy Office says the average price was $2.81 a gallon, down from $2.86 the previous week, according to the March 9 survey. The average kerosene price of $3.36 was a penny less than a week ago. Propane prices also fell 1 cent to $2.71. The highest price for heating oil in the state was $3.09 while the lowest price was $2.50.(AP)

Police have charged a Winslow man with stealing more than $15,000 from a youth soccer organization and using the money for personal expenses. Charles Spaulding, former treasurer of the Winslow Travel Soccer Club, was charged with theft by unauthorized taking. Spaulding was not arrested and was instead issued a court summons because he was cooperative with police and is not considered a flight risk. Financial irregularities in the club's bank account were discovered in November. An audit determined that more than $15,000 was stolen during a five-year period. Spaulding is scheduled to be arraigned June 9. (AP)

A Fayette man has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing rolls of copper wire from a state Transportation Department work site. Shawn Michaud was also sentenced to pay more than $7,000 in restitution. Authorities say the 35-year-old Michaud stole the wire last September in Augusta and sold it as scrap.(AP)

Two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri have hit by riots over the killing of an unarmed black teenager last year, have been hit by gunfire. According to the BBC, one officer was shot in the face and one in the shoulder, St Louis County police chief said. Both suffered "very serious gunshot injuries”. The incident followed the resignation of Ferguson's police chief, after a federal report alleged widespread racial bias in his department. Three shots had been fired shortly after midnight, as the protest crowd was starting to break up. (BBC)

Monmouth police backed off from a standoff with a man suffering a mental health crisis on Wednesday morning. According to the KJ, that defused the confrontation for the moment. The officer returned to the home in the afternoon to convince the man to go to the hospital for treatment. The officers did determine there was no one else in the home and there were no guns in the house at the time. Hours later the officer did return and persuaded the man to get into his cruiser and go to St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston for treatment.(centralmaine.com)