Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

October 5, 2012

Waterville bar fight sends two men to hospital with stab wounds

Victims, witnesses are cooperating with police after Bob-In brawl

By Ben McCanna bmccanna@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE -- Two men were briefly hospitalized after they were stabbed in a bar fight early Friday, and so far, the victims and witnesses aren't talking to investigators.

Police found a chaotic scene at 12:30 a.m. when they were called to the Bob-In Restaurant on Temple Street -- the site of a reported stabbing. There were no signs of victims, but there was a substantial amount of blood on the floor, particularly in the bathroom, Chief Joseph Massey said.

Outside, police found a bloodied man lying next to the train tracks about a block to the east at Head of Falls and a second trail of blood leading west from the bar to an alley off Temple Street. The trail stopped about 25 feet into the alley next to a pair of prescription glasses, but there was no sign of a victim, Massey said.

Police identified Jake Dumais, 25, of Waterville, as the man at the train tracks. Dumais had slash marks across his face and ear and stab wounds to his back, near his left shoulder. He was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center's Thayer Campus, but he wouldn't tell the investigators what happened, Massey said.

"He didn't want to cooperate whatsoever to explain how he was stabbed," he said.

Massey said witnesses at the Bob-In wouldn't provide descriptions of anyone involved in the stabbing, so police called area hospitals to see if anyone had checked in with stab wounds.

Their efforts paid off.

Jaquan Pugh, 22, of Waterville, was at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, where he was treated for slash wounds across his face. Pugh was also short on details, Massey said.

"He said he was in the bathroom when a fight broke out behind him and somehow -- somehow -- he got slashed," Massey said.

Massey said he wasn't sure whether the glasses belong to Pugh.

Investigators believe Dumais and Pugh are withholding information. Both men were treated and released and neither has been charged, Massey said.

"I'm not willing to say these guys are victims," he said. "It's very confusing. We're not sure -- at this point -- what transpired. It makes it very difficult to investigate when no one is willing to come forward and talk to us, but that's pretty typical when we go to these barroom fights. People are very uncooperative. They are generally not fans of the police."

Massey said Waterville police have solved similar cases in the past. Not including Friday's stabbings, police have closed four out of five stabbings this year. According to reports:

• On April 8, a man spent nine days in a Portland hospital after he was stabbed twice in the back on Spring Street. Charles Bellows, 20, was charged.
• On April 26, two men were stabbed outside the Chez Paree nightclub in the city's South End. One man was slashed across the chest so deep that his ribs were visible; the other man was stabbed in the elbow and groin. In July, police charged Albe Lagasse, 44, of Bangor, with aggravated assault.
• On April 28, a woman suffered minor cuts, including to her face, after a man forced his way into her home and assaulted her. She was taken to the hospital for treatment. The case is still unsolved.
• On May 6, a man was stabbed in the back outside the Bob-In during an argument. The victim, whose wounds were described as superficial, refused medical treatment. Jesse Jones, 23, of Waterville, was charged at the scene.
• On May 9, a 20-year-old man was stabbed in the apartment of his alleged assailant. Demetrio Bautista, 19, of 51 Western Ave., was arrested and charged with elevated aggravated assault.

Ben McCanna -- 861-9239

bmccanna@centralmaine.com

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