Former Greenville police chief pleads guilty to arson and other charges

By WGME

A former Greenville police chief has pleaded guilty to several charges, including arson and burglary.

Those charges against 54-year-old Jeffrey Pomerleau stemmed from him breaking into a friend’s camp, shooting a gun, and setting lawn furniture on fire, according to the Kennebec Journal.

Pomerleau agreed to enter a Veterans Court treatment program for military veterans, the Kennebec Journal reported. The program helps offenders with substance abuse and mental health problems.

If he completes the Veterans Court requirement, only one misdemeanor will stay on his record and all the other charges will be dismissed. If he doesn’t complete the program, he could be sentenced on the felony charges and face up to 30 years in prison.

He also pleaded no contest to unrelated criminal threatening and criminal trespass charges, according to the Kennebec Journal.

Pomerleau, who worked for the Augusta Police Department for 17 years before becoming police chief in Greenville in 2010, broke through a door and entered his friend’s camp, which he had previously been allowed to use. The man had reportedly declined Pomerleau’s request to use the camp, the newspaper reported.

Pomerleau also fired a shotgun at the camp and burned lawn furniture that belonged to the owner.

He retired as Greenville’s police chief in 2020.