Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Police: Man charged in bar scuffle had gun, knife

By Craig Crosby ccrosby@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

HALLOWELL -- A Fayette man faces several charges after a gun fell out of his pants during a scuffle outside a Front Street bar Tuesday night, police said.

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Kenneth Prehn

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The man, Kenneth Prehn, 27, was with two other women, Hallowell Police Chief Eric Nason said. They were drinking and singing karaoke inside the Easy Street Lounge shortly after 10 p.m. when Prehn pulled one of the women outside, Nason said.

"The female friend (still inside) motioned to an employee that the situation needed some intervention," Nason said.

The employee left the bar and tried to break up the argument.

"During this process, the employee was struck on the left side of the abdomen," Nason said.

Nason said a handgun -- a police report did not specify what kind -- fell out of Prehn's pants during the altercation. Prehn didn't notice the gun fall out, Nason said.

The employee told a bystander to call police, and then Prehn and the woman with whom he had been arguing both fled in a car. Before fleeing, Prehn threatened to kill the bar employee, Nason said.

The Kennebec County Sheriff's Office later found the car after receiving a report of a man and a woman arguing by the side of the road in Readfield, according to a report by Hallowell police officer Derek Wing. The description of the car and of the man and woman matched those given witnesses outside the Easy Street Lounge, Wing said.

Prehn was also found to be carrying a spring-loaded knife when he was searched, Nason said.

Prehn was arrested on charges of assault, criminal threatening, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm in a liquor establishment and possession of a dangerous knife.

He was being held Wednesday at the Kennebec County jail on $560 bail.

Tuesday's call was the second time in four days that police had to intervene at the Front Street bar, Nason said.

Management called police about 11:30 p.m. Saturday after an Augusta man broke several light bulbs and then tried to flush the pieces down a toilet. The toilet backed up, causing additional damage, Nason said.

David Barnard, 36, was issued summonses charging him with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief in connection with the incident.

Even so, Nason said police are rarely called to the bar.

"We don't perceive it as being an ongoing problem," Nason said.

Craig Crosby -- 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com