Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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MASARDIS, Maine — Gary Mahaney, a man whose name some Aroostook County residents remember in association with violent crimes during the 1970s, is back in prison after a decade on parole from a life sentence for murder.
The Maine State Police Tactical Team took 71-year-old Mahaney into custody from a home in Masardis on Dec. 2, 2015, less than a month after he was allegedly caught by game wardens hunting deer over bait in Lincoln County and then providing a false name.
Mahaney had been living in the Augusta area since 2005, after spending 25 years in prison for the 1974 murder of Rand Blanchard in Westfield. His parole required that he not enter Aroostook and Penobscot counties and not use firearms, among other conditions.
After the deer hunting encounter, Mahaney apparently fled to Masardis, a sparsely populated town along the Aroostook River at the edge of the North Woods.
“When his true identity and criminal history was revealed, a search for Mahaney began,” said Maine Warden Service Cpl. John MacDonald.
Mahaney was found “held up” in a home on Garfield Road owned by another convicted felon, who MacDonald would not identify because of ongoing work in the case.
Mahaney is now at Maine State Prison. He faces new charges of aggravated forgery, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and hunting over bait. According to the parole board, the hunting incident and attempted escape that followed were the only known violations of his release. He will be eligible for parole consideration again in 2018, although he still faces additional time in prison for the hunting violations.
Mahaney grew up in the Mars Hill area and had a reputation for fighting and links to crimes ranging from drug trafficking to incidents of violence.
Paroled convict from 1974 County murder sent back to prison
That's just one bad decision after another.
The Maine State Police Tactical Team took 71-year-old Mahaney into custody from a home in Masardis on Dec. 2, 2015, less than a month after he was allegedly caught by game wardens hunting deer over bait in Lincoln County and then providing a false name.
Mahaney had been living in the Augusta area since 2005, after spending 25 years in prison for the 1974 murder of Rand Blanchard in Westfield. His parole required that he not enter Aroostook and Penobscot counties and not use firearms, among other conditions.
After the deer hunting encounter, Mahaney apparently fled to Masardis, a sparsely populated town along the Aroostook River at the edge of the North Woods.
“When his true identity and criminal history was revealed, a search for Mahaney began,” said Maine Warden Service Cpl. John MacDonald.
Mahaney was found “held up” in a home on Garfield Road owned by another convicted felon, who MacDonald would not identify because of ongoing work in the case.
Mahaney is now at Maine State Prison. He faces new charges of aggravated forgery, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and hunting over bait. According to the parole board, the hunting incident and attempted escape that followed were the only known violations of his release. He will be eligible for parole consideration again in 2018, although he still faces additional time in prison for the hunting violations.
Mahaney grew up in the Mars Hill area and had a reputation for fighting and links to crimes ranging from drug trafficking to incidents of violence.
Paroled convict from 1974 County murder sent back to prison
That's just one bad decision after another.