AUGUSTA — William F. Atwood was stopped on suspicion of shoplifting when he was leaving Kohl’s department store Dec. 10 carrying pots, pans and dishes.

And when he was searched by police, they found needles filled with heroin in his jacket, Assistant District Attorney Joelle Pratt told a judge on Wednesday in Kennebec County Superior Court.

Pratt talked about the circumstances of the case shortly after Atwood, 37, of Windsor, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft by unauthorized taking, one relating to the Kohl’s incident and one involving the Oct. 17, 2013, theft of two cartons of cigarettes from the Maine Smoke Shop, also in Augusta, and to unlawful possession of heroin and violating conditions of release.

Pratt said Atwood was on probation at the time for an earlier theft conviction in superior court in York County.

Atwood was sentenced to nine months in jail for the new offenses and ordered to pay $52 restitution for the Kohl’s theft and $108 for the cigarettes. He was also fined $400.

Justice Michaela Murphy added a condition of probation prohibiting him from having or using alcohol or illegal drugs.

At a separate hearing, Darvent Emmanuel Cummings, 22, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., who was one of 10 people arrested during a raid by Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Augusta police officers at an Augusta home on Dec. 18, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of heroin. Cummings had been released from jail two weeks earlier and remained on probation on charges of aggravated criminal mischief.

The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Katie Sibley said Cummings was a resident of the home and knew illegal drugs were there, but was not using them himself.

He was sentenced to six months in jail on the new charge, to be served at the same time as a six-month probation revocation, and fined $400.

Betty Adams — 621-5631 [email protected] Twitter: @betadams

Related Stories