NEWPORT — A Plymouth man was arrested Wednesday on charges that he forced a car off the road, punched out a car window, pulled a male passenger out through it and robbed him of cash and other items, police said Thursday.

The man, Anthony S. Barnes, 30, was charged with robbery, a class B felony, as well as misdemeanor charges of operating after license suspension and violating conditions of release.

He was still being held without bail Thursday afternoon at Penobscot County Jail in Bangor. A jail official said Barnes was scheduled to appear in court today.

Newport Police Chief Leonard Macdaid said a report came in about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday of a two-vehicle accident on outer Elm Street and that the people involved were fighting.

Barnes was identified by several witnesses as the one who instigated the incident, but he had fled the scene by the time police got there, Macdaid said. Barnes was arrested about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at his residence on Ridge Road in Plymouth.

The incident happened on Elm Street, which is U.S. Route 2, when Barnes, driving a 1997 Dodge Intrepid, forced a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee off the road and into a driveway, according to Macdaid. Two men and a woman were inside the Jeep.

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Barnes got out of his car, jumped on top of the hood of the Jeep and broke the windshield by kicking it, Macdaid said. Barnes then leaped down by the passenger side, punched out the window and began pulling out a man in the passenger seat.

Barnes grabbed the man’s wallet, which contained $400 cash, as well as his cellphone and a pack of cigarettes, according to Macdaid.

The man pulled out the window hurt his leg, but he refused medical treatment from emergency responders, Macdaid said. Police reports do not say whether Barnes was injured, but Macdaid said he thought he was because of the smashed windshield and window.

“The cause is still under investigation, but we don’t think it’s random,” Macdaid said. Still, Macdaid said police did not yet have information as to whether the people involved knew each other.

Newport officer Phil Boyd is investigating the case and was later assisted by the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office in finding and arresting Barnes.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Barnes was arrested in Bangor in July after allegedly calling 911 several times during the early morning hours and hanging up. When police caught up with him, Barnes allegedly admitted to using the designer drug known as “bath salts” and said he was concerned about being shot by people chasing him with rifles.

The newspaper also reported in May 2009 that Barnes was arrested in Bangor for beating a man in the head with a collapsible baton. The same report said Barnes was convicted in 2008 for attempting to stab a man with a knife outside of a tavern.

Scott Monroe — 861-9239

smonroe@centralmaine.com


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