Police seized several guns and nearly 100 full magazines of ammunition from the Fairfield home of Thomas Welch, the man accused of shooting at and damaging three Central Maine Power substations early Sunday morning.
Winslow police executed a search warrant Sunday afternoon with Maine State Police at Welch’s business and residence at 25 West St. In the three and a half hours officers spent searching, they found dozens of loaded magazines from assault rifles, pistols and shotguns in Welch’s SUV and apartment, an evidence log shows. More than half of the magazines collected were for AR-15 and AR-10 assault rifles.
In all, police discovered thousands of rounds of ammunition, some matching the dozens of rounds fired at the substations. Near the substation on Benton Avenue in Winslow, one officer found 52 spent assault rifle casings.
Officers also discovered a tactical vest, body armor, helmets and ammunition accessories, the evidence log shows.
Welch, who was charged with three counts of aggravated criminal mischief and is being held at Kennebec County jail on $250,000 bail, turned himself into the Winslow Police Department on Sunday morning, where he confessed to shooting at CMP substations in Windsor, Augusta and Winslow, according to a police affidavit.
Police then obtained the search warrant for the 25 West St. property, where Welch lives and owns Mainely Handrails LLC, a metal fabrication shop.
Welch made his first appearance in Kennebec County court Tuesday.
No clear motive has been determined. In the affidavit, Winslow police Lt. Bradley Hubert wrote that Welch “explained that he wanted to say more but he did not want to get into why.”
The incidents at the three CMP substations briefly knocked out power for many in Kennebec County. A CMP spokesperson said Wednesday that the utility is supporting the ongoing investigation.
“Following the incident, power was quickly restored to any impacted customers thanks to system redundancies and work by Central Maine Power crews,” the spokesperson said. “The Company also made all required regulatory notifications. Crews continue to assess damage and make repairs, and any questions regarding this incident should be referred to Maine State Police.”
CMP has been the target of a high-profile attack before. On May 11, 1976, the CMP headquarters in Augusta was bombed by a group of men connected to several other bombings that summer across New England.
Amy Dumeny, a spokesperson for the Maine Public Utilities Commission, said the commission was not aware of similar attacks on utility infrastructure in Maine in recent years.
Dumeny said, due to the ongoing investigation, she could not provide an estimate for the cost of the damage to CMP’s infrastructure.
The CMP spokesperson also did not disclose the cost of the damage.
