BELFAST — A Belfast man is facing four charges following a short drive Saturday evening, according to Belfast Police Department Sergeant Matthew Cook. 

John H. Larrabee, 37, was arrested after his mother reportedly phoned Waldo County Dispatch to report that her son had taken a vehicle from her East Avenue home that he was not authorized to have, and that she believed him to be intoxicated, according to Cook.

The complainant also stated that Larrabee had attached plates to the car that did not belong to it, Cook said.

Belfast Police looked for Larrabee unsuccessfully before ultimately returning to his mother’s home to see if she may have any idea where he may have traveled to. Officers were given the address of a home that was “approximately five doors down [from the mother’s home]” that she stated she thought he might have gone to, according to Cook.

When officers arrived at the address they found the vehicle in question “running, with the doors open and the radio blaring,” Cook said. 

Though he denied driving the vehicle, a friend told responding officers that Larrabee had indeed driven, in addition to providing a written statement. The witness told officers that he and Larrabee had wanted to go into town and that Larrabee had walked from the residence to his mother’s home. There, he attached false plates to the car before driving it back to the friend’s residence, at which point the friend the drove the vehicle to an “unknown location” before returning. 

Larrabee, who was on bail conditions at the time of the incident, was transported by Belfast Police for an intoxilyzer test, which revealed his blood alcohol content to be .21 percent.

Larrabee has been charged with operating under the influence, operating after habitual-offender revocation, attaching false plates, and violating conditions of release.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com