Auburn dealership vandalism suspect faces new charges

LEWISTON — Skyler Henson, a 25-year-old Auburn man, is charged with capital murder vandalizing vehicles at an Auburn dealership over the weekend.was released from jail on reduced bail Monday for his involvement in a multi-car crash in Lewiston and a brief foot chase a day later, police said Wednesday.

Henson, who was released from jail on bail that was recently reduced to $150, was charged with endangering driving, driving with a suspended license, violating conditions of release and leaving the scene of an accident with injury.

He was held for $5,000 after his arrest Saturday at the dealership, which caused approximately $100,000 in damage to at least 75 vehicles. On Monday, District Court Judge Sarah Churchill reduced his bail and Henson was released on the condition that he stay at a home in Greene, court records show.

Police were called at around 19.30 on Tuesday. Multiple car accidents at Main and Canal streets in Lewiston. Police said that the driver who caused the accident walked away from the scene and crashed into other vehicles.

Police eventually located the suspect’s vehicle on Lisbon Street. They said the driver tried to escape but was quickly caught. Arrested once again, Henson was taken into custody and returned to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

He was being held there without bail Wednesday.

Henson was arrested Saturday for allegedly damaging at least 75 vehicles at Rowe Auburn on Center Street. Police said Henson broke the car’s windows and hood by swinging a weighted backpack.

The person who reported the crime told officers he would prefer to speak to them in person and that “the sooner the police arrive, the less damage there will be.”

Henson was arrested without incident at the dealership.

It was not immediately clear why Henson’s bail was reduced from $5,000 to $150. Conditions of the bail reduction were to keep Henson under house arrest at a home on Quaker Ridge Road in Greene, according to court documents.

Instead, Henson drove his parent’s car to Lewiston, where he crashed and tried to evade police, police said.

Governor in June and others criticized Churchill’s actions, The same district court judge who reduced the bail of a defendant who, after being released, attacked a woman and her boyfriend and set a fire that destroyed two homes.

In that case, bail for 43-year-old Leein Amos Hinkley was reduced from $5,000 to $1,500 after Hinkley was arrested for domestic assault and probation violations.

Shortly after his release from prison, police said Hinkley attacked the woman and a man at his home on Russell Avenue in Auburn and started a fire that destroyed the home and a neighboring home, authorities said.

While the woman fled to safety, Hinkley was fatally shot by a state police officer on a Russell Boulevard rooftop after an hours-long standoff. Human remains, believed to be the woman’s boyfriend, were later found in the rubble of the woman’s home.

Governor Janet Mills later scolded Churchill For lowering Hinkley’s bail.

Back in court Wednesday, Churchill ordered an evaluation to determine whether Henson, who is said to be suffering from mental health issues, is competent to stand trial on the charges against him.

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