A man in Bangor, Maine, called police after a woman reportedly threatened to eat him over the phone, then arrived at his home and repeated the threat while brandishing a knife.
Officers responded to a residence on Center Street at approximately 1:50 a.m. Thursday, October 8, according to an official account released by the Bangor Police Department.
Police identified the woman as Sarea Duane, 22, of Augusta. Officers questioned Duane and other residents before taking her into custody.
What prompted the bizarre threat remains unclear. Police have not publicly explained whether Duane knew the man or what may have led to the confrontation.
A Threat That Came With a Knife
Officers took Duane to the Penobscot County Jail, where she was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony.
Maine law ordinarily classifies criminal threatening as a Class D misdemeanor, but the use of a dangerous weapon can elevate the offense to a felony.
The Maine Wire reported October 12 that Duane had since been released from jail.
Readers responding to the outlet’s Facebook post found plenty of humor in the unusual threat. One joked that Duane had been released because police “could not prove she had a salt shaker.”
An Earlier Threat Came With an Even Stranger Explanation
Another commenter wrote, “I thought we stopped doing bath salts awhile back.”
There is no reported drug connection in Duane’s case, but the comment recalls a remarkably similar incident at a Georgia golf course in July 2012.
According to Fox News, Karl Laventure was found near a wooded area at the Atlanta Golf Center wearing only his underwear and ranting about cannibalism, religion, and rapper Tupac Shakur.
Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith described one of Laventure’s more memorable statements:
“I’ll eat you. I don’t want to eat you but I will.”
Police said Laventure approached officers, ignored commands, and resisted their efforts to restrain him. Officers used pepper spray and Tasers before taking him into custody.
Laventure later told authorities he had smoked marijuana sprinkled with bath salts. He faced misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and disrupting a police officer.
A City With a Few Stories to Tell
During the 1800s, Bangor grew into one of the world’s leading lumber-shipping centers, drawing loggers, sailors, merchants, and travelers to its busy waterfront. The city also developed a rougher reputation, particularly in an area known as the Devil’s Half Acre, where saloons, brothels, gambling, and occasional violence were part of the local scene. The Bangor Historical Society still explores that colorful period through its historical walking tours.
Bangor later became closely associated with horror writer Stephen King, who lived in the city and used it as inspiration for Derry, the fictional Maine town featured in his novel It.
The city’s recent police reports have offered some unusual stories of their own.
Just two days before Duane’s arrest, Bangor police documented a series of encounters with Ryan Sawyer, 38, of Glenburn. According to an October 8 police release, Sawyer was arrested twice following incidents that included removing his clothes at a hospital, blocking an ambulance entrance, throwing apples at passing cars, and damaging business windows.
Between Sawyer’s encounters with police and Duane’s alleged late-night threat, Bangor has had an unusually eventful start to October.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.