WINSLOW — A Skowhegan man was charged with felony assault early Monday morning after attacking a woman in her home and then leading police on a three-hour search through Waterville and Winslow.

Thomas David Bouchard, 32, of Main Street, Skowhegan, was arrested near the Burger King on College Avenue shortly after midnight on Monday and charged with aggravated domestic violence assault and two counts of violating conditions of release.

The charges stemmed from an alleged attack on a woman in her Halifax Street apartment earlier on Monday evening, said Winslow Chief Shawn O’Leary.

The woman called police at 9:17 p.m. to report that Bouchard had hit her repeatedly in the face and possibly broken her nose. When officers and emergency medical crews arrived at the apartment, the woman said that Bouchard had been “highly intoxicated” throughout the evening before he assaulted her, O’Leary said. Bouchard attacked the woman with his hands and feet, and she suffered severe facial injuries, a broken nose and several other contusions, O’Leary said. Bouchard’s intoxication played a “massive” part in the assault, he added.

Winslow police are very familiar with Bouchard, and he can “at times be very volatile and confrontational with police,” O’Leary said. Winslow officers waited for backup from three Waterville officers before entering the apartment to find Bouchard had fled the scene.

Police requested a K-9 unit from the Maine State Police to pursue Bouchard and conducted an in-depth search that lasted the majority of the evening and took up the department’s resources, O’Leary said. Before midnight, police received information that Bouchard was on College Avenue in Waterville and apprehended him.

O’Leary applauded the cooperation between the Winslow and Waterville departments that led to Bouchard’s capture and arrest.

“It was really good police work,” he said.

According to O’Leary, this is the fourth time Bouchard has been arrested in 2015. The assault was aggravated due to the severity of the woman’s wounds, he said. An aggravated assault is a Class B crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Bouchard’s last known address is in Skowhegan, but he has been staying in Winslow, O’Leary said. Bouchard was taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta Monday morning where he was held without bail.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: PeteL_McGuire

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