ROCHESTER – A 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly causing serious head injuries to a 49-year-old acquaintance at a local long-term hotel along Route 125 Thursday evening.<br/><br/>
Clifford J. Gagnon, 24, whose last known address was at 159 Milton Rd. in East Rochester, was charged with second-degree assault in connection with the incident at the Residence Inn at 182 Milton Rd. – Route 125.<br/>
Police, firefighters and emergency personnel responded around 8 p.m. after the 49-year-old man was allegedly assaulted. The identity of the injured man has not been released at this time.<br/><br/>
Deputy Police Chief Scott Dumas said police are looking into what led up to the incident and whether the serious head injury was caused by an object or another person. <br/><br/>
“The victim and the suspect were known to each other and this does not appear to be a random act,” according to a release by police.<br/><br/>
Assistant Fire Chief Mark Dupuis said by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, paramedics from Frisbie Memorial Hospital were already treating the man. He added firefighters assisted paramedics by providing them a driver and transporting the patient to Skyhaven Airport on Route 125.<br/><br/>
Dumas said crews from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) transported the man from Skyhaven to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. He added he did not have an update on the man’s injuries or his condition.<br/><br/>
Gagnon, who was held in held at the Strafford County Jail in Dover on $25,000 cash bail, is scheduled to be arraigned in Rochester Circuit Court Tuesday at 11 a.m.<br/><br/>
Second-degree assault is a Class B Felony, which can yield a maximum sentence of up to 3½ to 7 years in prison.