The Auburn man accused of vandalizing 75 cars at a dealership over the weekend allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash after being released on bail.
Skyler Henson, 25, has been charged with driving to endanger, operating after suspension, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and violating his conditions of release, according to the Lewiston Police Department.
Henson was driving near the intersection of Main and Canal streets about 7:29 p.m. Tuesday when he allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash. He then allegedly fled and crashed into more vehicles.
Officers found Henson on Lisbon Street, where he tried to flee but was quickly apprehended, police said.
These new allegations come just days after Henson is accused of vandalizing 75 vehicles at Rowe Auburn on Center Street in Auburn.
Police went to Rowe Auburn about 4:06 a.m. Saturday after a caller reported vandalism and told dispatchers that “the sooner police arrived the less damage there would be.” Smashing sounds could be heard in the background while the caller spoke with dispatchers, Timothy Cougle, the deputy chief of the Auburn Police Department, said over the weekend.
When officers arrived, they found Henson swinging a weighted backpack, smashing windows and hoods on the vehicles at the dealership, according to Cougle.
He was immediately detained and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail. He was charged with aggravated criminal mischief.
Henson allegedly damaged 75 vehicles, mostly smashing front windshields while damaging the bodies on others. The dealership estimates that Henson caused $80,000 to $90,000 in damage, according to Auburn police.
Henson was initially held on $5,000 bail, but a judge lowered his bail to $150, and Henson was released, Lewiston police said.
District Court Judge Sarah Churchill lowered Henson’s bail on the condition that he remain confined to a home in Greene, but left in his parents’ car, the Sun Journal reported.
Henson is now being held without bail at the Androscoggin County Jail, according to the newspaper.
Churchill came under fire over the summer after reducing bail for 43-year-old Leein Hinkley, who proceeded to try to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home and fight with her partner in Auburn in June.
Hinkley burned two homes and was killed in a shootout with police. The remains of 43-year old Brian Woodbury were found in one of the homes that burned.
In the aftermath of the rampage, a police union and Gov. Janet Mills criticized Churchill for reducing Hinkley’s bail. That criticism prompted the Maine Judicial Branch to come to Churchill’s defense, saying the “constitutional rights of the accused are not a matter of convenience.” The Judicial Branch pointed to the lack of available attorneys for indigent defendants as the reason Hinkley’s bail was eventually reduced because a person cannot be held in jail for an unknown length of time without legal representation.
“Unless and until we have enough defense attorneys available to represent accused people, our system will continue to malfunction,” the statement said.
