An attempted firearms purchase led to the arrest of a Jamaican citizen who the town of Old Orchard Beach had hired as a police officer, FOX News reported on Monday afternoon.
Jon Luke Evans entered the U.S. legally in September 2023, but overstayed his visa, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) stated. He was due to return top Jamaica on October 1 of that year but never boarded his flight home.
The Maine Wire contacted the Old Orchard Beach Police Department seeking information about when Evans was hired, the status of his employment and what type of vetting the department employs in its hiring process, but it did not immediately respond.
On Tuesday morning, The Maine Wire again attempted to contact Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard, but her administrative assistant at first denied receiving Monday afternoon’s voicemail message, and then said she “hadn’t got around to it yet.”
In the meantime, OOB police posted a statement by Chief Chard on Facebook that asserts:
“Jon Luke Evans was hired by the Old Orchard Beach Police Department in May as a summer reserve officer. As part of the standard hiring process by the Town and the Police Department, Evans was required to complete an I-9 federal immigration and work authorization form to verify that he was legally authorized to work in the United States,” Chard stated.
“As part of the hiring process, the Town reviewed multiple forms of identification, including photo identification, and submitted Evans’ I-9 form to the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify Program. The Department of Homeland Security then verified that Evans was authorized to work in the U.S. The form was submitted and approved by DHS on May 12, 2025. Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status,” she continued.
According to Chard “the Police Department was notified that Evans was legally permitted to work in the U.S., and his I-766 Employment Authorization Document was not set to expire until March 2030.”
The Old Orchard Beach police chief went on to say that Maine is one of the only states in the nation that allows non-citizens to work as reserve police officers in a revelation that might surprise many Mainers.
Evans was reportedly flagged by ICE when he applied tried to buy a gun for use on his job as a policeman, FOX’s Bill Melugin wrote.
In April, ICE detained a Cumberland County corrections officer for overstaying his visa. Gratien Milandou-Wamba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had been working at the jail as a guard, but was in the U.S. illegally.
