Facebook ‘like’ leads to Wiscasset man’s arrest

Tue, 04/21/2015 - 6:00pm

    A Wiscasset man has been ordered to “unfriend” an alleged victim.

    Lucas Morse, 22, of Wiscasset was rearrested April 16 and charged with violating the conditions of his release after he allegedly liked a Facebook photo his alleged victim had posted on her wall on the social media site Facebook.

    According to an affidavit by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective Jared Mitkus, the alleged victim posted a photo on Facebook, and Morse allegedly liked the photo, which would violate the terms of his release, which stated that he was not allowed to have any contact with the victim.

    The photo, which reportedly had two people holding hands with the caption “Maybe I'm stupid but I don't wanna forget us” was set to “public,” and Mitkus reportedly saw that Morse had allegedly liked it.

    Mitkus wrote that when someone “likes” a Facebook photo, the website will send a message to whomever posted the photo. When Mitkus spoke with Morse on April 16, Morse allegedly admitted to liking the photo and stated that no one else had access to his Facebook account.

    Mitkus arrested him and charged him with the misdemeanor crime of violating the conditions of his release.

    Morse's bail conditions stem from a March arrest when he allegedly attacked a Waldoboro teenager twice in the same day, in two separate towns.

    According to an affidavit from Waldoboro Police Officer Larry Hesseltine, Morse allegedly pulled the victim by her legs off a bed, then reportedly pulled her down the stairs. Morse also allegedly placed the victim in a bear hug and allegedly smashed her head in a doorway in Wiscasset. The first attack reportedly caused damage to one of the girl's eyes.

    The victim reportedly went to a family member's house in Waldoboro, where Morse allegedly grabbed her by the throat, to the point where she reported that she couldn't breathe. In Hesseltine's affidavit, he wrote that Morse slammed the victim to the ground and hurt her other eye during the alleged Waldoboro attack.

    Morse was eventually arrested in Wiscasset and charged with Class B aggravated assault and Class D domestic violence assault. Class B crimes, which are felonies, carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison with up to $20,000 in fines. Class D and E crimes are both misdemeanors and have a maximum penalty of up to 364 days and six months, respectively, in jail, or up to a $2,000 fine for Class D convictions and a $1,000 maximum fine for Class E convictions.

    Morse was held at Two Bridges Regional Jail and will have a June 22 docket call at the Lincoln County Court House in Wiscasset.