Erratic Driving Stop in Skowhegan, Maine Leads to Detainment of 14 Romanians

According to an article in the KJ, a July traffic stop in Skowhegan has led to the detainment of 14 Romanian citizens who were reportedly in the United States illegally.

The article explains that on the evening of July 27th, a 38-year-old man from Skowhegan contacted the Somerset County dispatch center to report a vehicle driving 25 mph below the speed limit and swerving across the road.

The caller later informed Damian Romo, the investigating officer, that two vehicles were driving erratically and at a slow pace, and he suspected the drivers might be under the influence.

After Romo responded to another call, he and Officer Tyler Dodge located both vehicles in the parking lot outside Walmart, located off Madison Avenue.  According to Dodge’s report, the caller had followed the vehicles there.

When Romo arrived at the scene, he saw a group of people unloading groceries from the cars.  He decided to follow them out of the parking lot, as the vehicles appeared to match the descriptions and plate numbers the caller had provided.

The two officers then followed one of the vehicles, a Land Rover, into the McDonald's parking lot across the street.  Romo attempted to check the California license plate through a database, but the dispatch center reported that the plate was not in the system.

A short time later, Romo pulled one of the vehicles over on Madison Avenue.  The traffic stop was done out of a safety concern because the vehicle was moving erratically.

According to the police report, 51-year-old Cristinel Alecu handed officers a California driver’s license, but couldn’t produce registration for the vehicle. Instead, he gave them a title that was in someone else’s name.

When officers looked inside the car, they found 10 people packed inside—including several kids. Some weren’t in booster seats or car seats, and others didn’t even have seatbelts on. Alecu reportedly told police the children were his grandchildren.

Alecu's daughter arrived on scene a short time later to transport the children to safety.  The registration on her vehicle was also reportedly cancelled and under a different name.  She told law enforcement that her father had recently purchased the vehicle from Facebook Marketplace.

At about 12:30 AM, the first Border Patrol agent showed up, with more following right behind, according to Romo’s report.  Agents quickly determined that all 11 people, the 10 inside the vehicle plus Alecu's daughter, were in the country illegally, and said they’d be taking them into custody.

At the same time, Skowhegan Police Corporal Willhoite reported that both Cristinel Alecu and Ioan mentioned knowing three other people in the area, who they said were staying at a motel.

Officer Dodge later spotted the group walking along Madison Avenue. He picked them up in his cruiser and brought them back to Ken’s Restaurant, where Border Patrol was already investigating.

In total, 14 people were determined to be in the country illegally and were detained.

*NOTE - All suspects are considered innocent until being found guilty in a court of law

The article gives no details about where the people were taken for detainment, but records do seem to indicate that Alecu volunteered for departments on August 18th.

Additionally, it appears that Cristinel Alecu was cited for endangering the welfare of a child for not having several of the children properly buckled in while driving.