Arrest Made in Gunfire Incidents at 3 Central Maine Power Substations

54-year-old Thomas Welch of Fairfield turned himself in to the Winslow Police Department in connection to shots being fired at Central Maine Power substations in Augusta, Windsor, and Winslow early Sunday morning, Feb. 15.

The Maine Department of Public Safety says nobody was hurt. Welch is facing charges of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated reckless conduct.

From the Winslow Police Department:

On February 15, 2026, at approximately 0359 hours, Winslow Police Department responded to a suspicious activity complaint from a citizen that reported hearing gunshots immediately followed by a power outage. Responding officers were aware of a similar incident occurring at a CMP Sub Station in Windsor, which prompted our response to CMP’s Sub Station located on Benton Avenue. Upon arrival, damages were observed at the Benton Avenue Sub Station and evidence was collected at the scene. We were then advised that Augusta Police Department responded to another vandalized CMP Sub Station near the Capital. Evidence that was collected at the Winslow scene was found to be similar to evidence collected at the Windsor and Augusta sites. Winslow PD immediately coordinated with the Maine State Police and the Augusta Police Department for information sharing purposes.
At approximately 1200 hours, Thomas Welch (54) of Fairfield turned himself in at the Winslow Police Department regarding all three Criminal Mischief incidents. We determined what vehicle he used and located it at a residence in Fairfield. Fairfield Police were notified and they secured the property and suspect vehicle. Winslow PD secured a search warrant for the vehicle and property, which was executed at approximately 1700 hours with assistance from the Fairfield Police Department and Maine State Police. We cleared the warrant at approximately 2130 hours after seizing a large quantity of firearms and ammunition. Thomas Welch was arrested and charged with Aggravated Criminal Mischief (Class C) and Reckless Conduct with a Dangerous Weapon (Class B).
We would like to acknowledge that the multi-agency cooperation and coordination resulted in a timely resolution of these incidents. The investigation remains open and ongoing at this time.

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