Saturday night on Essex Street in Bangor ended with a person in critical condition and a manhunt that stretched across state lines, after police say a local man stabbed someone inside a home, fled, and took off in the victim’s SUV. He was later picked up in upstate New York, and officials in both states are now sorting out extradition and court dates.
How the investigation unfolded
Bangor police say officers were called to a home on Essex Street on Saturday night for a reported stabbing and found a victim with critical injuries who was rushed to the hospital, according to WGME. By the time officers arrived, the suspect was gone, and the victim’s vehicle was later reported stolen. Detectives identified a suspect and began working with law enforcement in New York to track him down.
Arrest in Guilderland
In Guilderland, New York, police say a license-plate reader pinged on a Toyota SUV driven by the suspect on Monday. Officers stopped the vehicle near Western Avenue and Carman Road and took 37-year-old Abel Perez into custody without incident, Times Union reports. Perez was arraigned in Guilderland Town Court on a felony charge of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and now faces extradition to Maine to answer additional counts, including attempted murder.
Charges and what they mean
Bangor police identified Perez as the suspect in the Essex Street stabbing and say he faces attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault, domestic-violence assault, and theft by unauthorized taking in the Maine case, according to the Portland Press Herald. The Press Herald reports that attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault are Class A offenses in Maine, with potential penalties that can include decades in prison and sizeable fines.
What happens next
Perez will remain in New York while officials complete extradition paperwork and arrange his transfer back to Maine to be prosecuted on the state charges, the Times Union reported. The investigation is still active as prosecutors and investigators in both states prepare the case for Maine courts.
