A Hartland man was arrested Monday evening after allegedly firing two warning shots into the air to scare another man on Commercial Street in that Somerset County town.

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Corey Eugene Swain, 42, was identified as the shooter.

Lancaster said that about 5:40 p.m. Monday, deputies were dispatched to Commercial Street in Hartland in response to a report of shots being fired. The officers who went there were Cpl. Ritchie Putnam, Cpl. Matt Cunningham and Deputy Toby Blodgett. The report was called in by a witness who said that a maroon SUV pulled up to the curb on Commercial Street and stopped. The witness said people got out of the SUV and confronted the victim, whose identity Lancaster is not releasing. An argument ensued and ended with one of the men firing a weapon.

Deputy Toby Blodgett, the lead investigator in this case, on Monday was able to corroborate the witness’ statement by finding two spent .45-caliber shell casings on the sidewalk at the scene. The altercation took place in the area of Wright’s store on Commercial Street.

Lancaster said Blodgett found Swain at his grandmother’s house. After he talked with Swain, a .45-caliber Hi-Point handgun that allegedly was used in the altercation was found at a different location in Hartland. Swain admitted to Blodgett that he had discharged the weapon, Lancaster said.

Further investigation revealed that Swain’s girlfriend at one point had had a relationship with the victim. No one was injured in the fracas.

Swain reportedly also told Blodgett that when the SUV pulled up to the sidewalk, the victim was walking on Commercial Street, saw Swain in the car, appeared to be upset over their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, opened Swain’s vehicle door and started a physical altercation.

Swain allegedly removed the handgun from the vehicle’s glove box and discharged a round into the air as he was getting out of the SUV. Once out of the SUV, he fired another round into the air as a warning shot, Lancaster said.

Blodgett arrested Swain and charged him with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a class C felony, and with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, also a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison on each charge.

Swain was taken to the Somerset County Jail in East Madison, where bail was set at $5,000 cash with a special condition of no use or possession of firearms or dangerous weapons. Swain’s initial court appearance is scheduled for March 13 in Skowhegan.

Assisting at the scene were a Maine State Police trooper, a Maine game warden and an officer from Pittsfield Police Department.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow