Arrest made following robbery

By Stuart Hedstrom  Staff Writer
    BROWNVILLE JCT — Several hours after a robbery took place at the General Store and More on the evening of Sept. 25, an arrest was made in the neighboring town of Milo.

   
     According to a press release from the Brownville Police Department, Jacob Lyford, 22, of Milo, was arrested without incident shortly after midnight on Sept. 26 at his First Street home on a robbery charge. Lyford was taken into custody after an investigation was conducted of the General Store and More robbery, which took place at approximately 7:20 p.m.
    Brownville Police were called shortly after General Store and More employees notified emergency dispatch that a male had come in to the business on Route 11 and brandished a pistol. The male, later identified as Lyford, tried to conceal his face with a hooded sweatshirt. He told a pair of employees to give him all the money in the cash register and, after receiving the cash, exited and is believed to have left on foot.
    Minutes later police units arrived on the scene and they quickly secured the area and began collecting evidence. Investigators, who were assisted by the Milo Police Department, Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department and the evidence recovery technicians from the Maine State Police, collected physical evidence and looked at surveillance footage to identify Lyford by his clothing.
    Police recovered an air-soft pellet gun, which had been modified to resemble a firearm, that Lyford had thrown into a ditch on Route 11 in Brownville. Also recovered was the clothing and black ski mask worn during the robbery. Police secured a vehicle belonging to Amanda Lawson, 20, of Milo, that appears to have been used during the incident. Lawson was questioned by police, but she was later released.
    Lyford, who is charged with a Class C felony, was taken to the Piscataquis County Jail in Dover-Foxcroft. His bail was set at $50,000, and he was given a court date for November.
    The Milo Police Department is looking into any possible connection with a robbery that took place at a town business earlier in the evening on Sept. 25.   
    According to a post on the Milo Police Department Facebook page on the morning on the Oct. 1, an arrest was made the previous night regarding the home invasion robbery the week before. The posting said a few details need to be finalized before charges can be leveled,