Auburn car dealership vandalism suspect faces new charges

LEWISTON — Skyler Henson, the 25-year-old Auburn man accused of vandalizing 75 cars at an Auburn car dealership over the weekend, was released from jail on a reduced bond Monday, but a day later he was involved in a multi-car pileup in Lewiston and a short foot chase, police said Wednesday.

Henson, who was recently released from jail on bail reduced to $150, was charged with driving to endanger, driving with a suspended license, violating conditions of release and leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries.

He was held on $5,000 bond after being arrested Saturday at a car dealership where about $100,000 in damage was done to at least 75 vehicles. On Monday, District Court Judge Sarah Churchill lowered his bail, and Henson was released on the condition that he remain confined to his Greene home, according to court documents.

Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to a car crash at Main Street and Canal Street in Lewiston. Police said the driver who caused the crash left the scene and hit other vehicles.

Police eventually found the suspect’s vehicle on Lisbon Street. The driver, they said, tried to flee but was caught almost immediately. Re-arrested, Henson was booked and sent to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

He remained there on Wednesday without the ability to post bail.

Henson was arrested Saturday after damaging at least 75 vehicles at Rowe Auburn on Center Street. Police said Henson swung a heavily loaded backpack, smashing windows and hoods in the parking lot.

The person who reported the crime told officers that he would rather speak to them in person and that “the sooner the police arrive, the less damage there will be.”

Henson was arrested without incident at the car dealership.

It was not immediately clear why Henson’s bail was lowered from $5,000 to $150. According to court documents, the terms of the lowered bail should have kept Henson under house arrest at a home on Quaker Ridge Road in Greene.

Instead, police say, Henson drove his parents’ car to Lewiston, where he crashed and tried to flee from police.

In June, the governor and others criticized the actions of Churchill, a district court judge who lowered the bail of a defendant who, after being released, attacked a woman and her boyfriend and set fire to two homes.

In this case, 43-year-old Leein Amos Hinkley’s bail was lowered from $5,000 to $1,500 after Hinkley was arrested for domestic assault and violating probation.

Police said that shortly after being released from prison, Hinkley attacked a woman and a man in their home on Russell Avenue in Auburn and set it on fire, destroying the home and neighboring buildings.

While the woman fled to safety, Hinkley was fatally shot by a state police officer on a Russell Avenue rooftop after an hours-long standoff. Human remains believed to be the woman’s boyfriend were later found in the rubble of the woman’s home.

Governor Janet Mills later reprimanded Churchill for reducing Hinkley’s bail.

Churchill was back in court on Wednesday and ordered an assessment to determine whether Henson, who reportedly suffers from mental health issues, is fit to stand trial on the charges against him.

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