The Auburn Police Department arrested a Lewiston man on Wednesday after he allegedly kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and tried to force her to steal from a Walmart while threatening to murder her if she refused.
An Auburn police officer was working a security detail at a Walmart on Wednesday when an employee approached him at about 1:30 p.m., informing him that a woman in the store said she was being threatened.
The off-duty officer made contact with the 30-year-old woman, who told him that her ex-boyfriend, Harrison Coleman, 50, of Lewiston, had forced her into a vehicle, driven her to the store, and demanded that she steal from it.
On-duty officers then responded to the scene and located Coleman, who was lurking in a parked vehicle outside the store.
The preliminary investigation appeared to corroborate the victim’s story and showed that Coleman had allegedly physically assaulted her to force her into the vehicle and had threatened to murder her.
He reportedly instructed her to steal specific items, though the Auburn Police Department did not indicate what those items were.
Coleman was arrested and transported to the Androscoggin County Jail, where he faces charges of kidnapping, domestic violence assault, and domestic violence criminal threatening.
He was denied bail due to the nature of the charges brought against him.
