Ex-Lebanon man nabbed as fugiive from justice

Jeremiah Hollenbeck (Sanford Police photo)

SANFORD - The man arrested last June for allegedly buying heroin in Lawrence, Mass., while his two young twins boys were in the car with him was arrested in Sanford over the weekend after police were called to break up a fight.

Jeremiah Hollenbeck, 31, of 15 Cross St., Sanford, formerly of 678 River Road, Lebanon, was arrested on a fugitive from justice charge after Sanford Police ran his ID and found there was a warrant for his arrest on "dangerous drug" charges out of Lawrence.

According to Sanford Deputy Chief Tim Strout, two Sanford cruisers were dispatched to the corner of Emery and School streets around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday and once on scene found two combatants fighting.

One of them was Hollenbeck, who was arrested and taken to the York County Jail.

No one else appears to have been charged in the fracas, according to a Sanford police activity report. Strout said a quick check of the report did not indicate whether Hollenbeck was fighting with a man or a woman.

Last June Hollenbeck was arrested in Lawrence for drug possession after police say he bought heroin from a local dealer while his twins were in the car. Police say Hollenbeck had 10 grams on him when he was arrested.

He was charged with heroin possession, child endangerment and failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

It wasn't Hollenbeck's first brush with the law while responsible for his young children.

The same twins, then nine months old, were left in a sweltering hot car with the engine not running and the windows rolled up on July 18, 2013, in Franklin while Hollenbeck shoplifted at a local Family Dollar store.

A 911 call from a concerned passer-by who saw children in the hot car sent police to the parking lot around 4 p.m. as the temperature outside soared to 97 degrees. The twins, along with two other children, then 5 and 9, were in Hollenbeck's vehicle, a Subaru, for 10 to 15 minutes, police estimated.

Shortly after police arrived Hollenbeck approached the car and was asked to open the doors which revealed all four children were in heat-related distress, police said.

All four were treated by Franklin Rescue and later released. Hollenbeck was charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of receiving stolen property, and a felony level possession of a controlled narcotic.

As part of the plea agreement in the Franklin case, Hollenbeck was released with no jail time, but was to remain on good behavior for two years or a jail sentence could be imposed.

The Lawrence arrest came less than two years after the Franklin sentencing.