Man shot at by state trooper for driving to US-Canada border with a sign indicating he had an explosive didn’t have any such devices, authorities say

By Michelle Watson, Amy Simonson, Aaron Eggleston and Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — A man who was shot at by a Maine state trooper while driving toward the Canadian border with a sign indicating he had an explosive inside his vehicle on Monday did not have any explosives with him, a public safety spokesperson said Wednesday.

Police earlier identified the driver as Tony Holford, 42, from Providence, Rhode Island.

“Investigators have confirmed that Tony Holford did not have explosives in his vehicle,” Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, told CNN in an email.

Holford appeared virtually from Aroostook County Jail in his first court appearance Wednesday.

“I never had any dangerous weapon on me at all, there was never no bomb or nothing,” Holford said. “It was all just a lie for attention because I needed help.”

The trooper first tried to stop Holford’s vehicle as it was heading north on Interstate 95 at around 10:39 a.m. Monday in Houlton, according to a statement from Maine State Police. The statement did not say why the trooper initially attempted to stop the truck.

“The vehicle continued northbound without stopping, and the Trooper observed a sign indicating that the operator had an explosive device on-board,” the statement said.

The truck eventually stopped between the US and Canadian ports of entry, “where troopers commanded the driver to get out of the vehicle,” police said.

Holford “maneuvered the truck towards the Canadian Port of Entry and Corporal Eric Paquette shot at the driver,” according to the statement.

Holford was not injured and surrendered to police.

He is facing a slew of charges that were read in court Wednesday, ranging from criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, passing a roadblock, and operating a vehicle without a license. Because some of the charges Holford is facing are felonies, the judge said he was not required to enter plea just yet.

His next court appearance, an arraignment, is scheduled for September 5 at 1 p.m. ET, the judge said.

Defense attorney Jeff Pickering argued for a $500 bail, though prosecutors wanted $5,000. The judge set bail at $1,000.

All lanes of the Woodstock border crossing, where the incident took place, were closed Monday as the investigation was underway, but reopened Monday night, the Canadian Border Services Agency’s Atlantic branch said in a tweet.

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