U.S. man involved in border security scare granted bail

Tony Holford is pictured in a photo provided by Aroostook County's Corrections.

A 42-year-old man at the centre of a lockdown at the border crossing between Woodstock, N.B., and Houlton, Maine, earlier this week remains in custody despite being granted bail.

At his initial appearance at the Houlton District Court Wednesday, Tony Holford’s cash bail was set at $1,000.

According to a court official Thursday morning, Holford was still in custody.

The Providence, Rhode Island, man is facing six counts after Maine State Police tried to stop a blue 2005 Chevy pickup on Interstate 95 northbound in Houlton, around 10:40 a.m. Monday,

The force says Trooper Denver Roy saw a sign on the truck indicating that the driver had an explosive device on board.

Despite attempts by Roy to pull the vehicle over, it continued, stopping between the U.S. and Canadian ports of entry, police say.

At that point, troopers ordered the driver to get out of the vehicle.

Instead, police say Holford moved his truck closer to the Canadian side of the border.

Maine State Trooper Cpl. Eric Paquette fired a shot at the driver.

Police say Holford wasn’t injured and he surrendered to officers. After being medically cleared, he was taken to the Aroostook County Jail.

The area was closed off while crime scene technicians and the Maine State Police Bomb Squad processed the scene.

Police say no explosives were found.

Holford is charged with:

• criminal threatening
• two counts of terrorizing
• passing a roadblock
• failure to stop
• operating a vehicle without a licence

Holford will be back in Houlton District Court for arraignment Sept. 5.

The Office of the Maine Attorney General is working with the Maine State Police to piece together the events that led up to the officer-involved shooting.

Both groups are collaborating with Canadian authorities to investigate the incident.

The border reopened Monday night at 10:45 p.m. to all traffic.

While it was closed, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) redirected traffic to other crossings including St. Leonard, Edmundston and Centreville.

The Bloomfield border crossing was temporarily closed so officers could help with the operation in Woodstock.

According to the CBSA, since January, the Woodstock border crossing has seen an average of just over 490 vehicles per day entering New Brunswick.

That number includes more than 340 personal vehicles, and 150 commercial.

Those vehicles are carrying almost 870 travellers, including nearly 170 commercial travellers.

The busiest New Brunswick port of entry is St. Stephen, Ferry Point, which has an average daily count of 673 vehicles and 1,045 travellers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection say about 350 vehicles and 350 commercial trucks enter the U.S. through Houlton each day.

The busiest border crossing leading into Maine is Ferry Point Bridge in Calais, Maine, with over 800 vehicles and 1,400 passengers each day.