Alleged burglary leads to gun accident

Posted July 11, 2010, at 8:29 p.m.
Last modified Jan. 29, 2011, at 11:54 a.m.

ISLAND FALLS, Maine — A Bangor man was in stable condition at Houlton Regional Hospital on Sunday after an incident in which a gun allegedly stolen from a camp accidentally went off and hit him in the leg.

Jack Doughty, 26, was arrested along with William Campbell, 22, and Robert Russell, 19, both of Island Falls, on theft and burglary charges stemming from burglaries of vehicles Friday on Mattawamkeag Lake, Maine State Police Sgt. Tom Pelletier said Sunday.

The three men allegedly burglarized vehicles on the Pratt Cove Road in the early morning Friday, July 9, and in the process a handgun was stolen from one of the vehicles, according to the state police. The trio allegedly fled the scene in Doughty’s father’s car, but Doughty lost control of the vehicle and it crashed on the camp road. When the men left the vehicle and fled on foot, the gun Doughty was holding discharged and he was shot in the leg, according to Pelletier.

Campbell went to a nearby camp where he sought help for Doughty, but Russell fled, Pelletier said. Campbell was arrested that morning, and Russell was arrested Sunday afternoon in Island Falls.

The three men are facing a felony Class B charge of theft of a firearm, Class D burglary of a motor vehicle and Class D unauthorized use of property. Doughty also faces a charge of operating after suspension, Pelletier said Sunday.

Trooper Timmy Saucier was assisted at the scene by Trooper Dennis Quint and the Houlton Police Department. Island Falls Ambulance and the Fire Department responded to provide medical care and transportation for Doughty, according to Pelletier.

The incident remains under investigation.