WARREN, Maine — There will be no charges filed in connection with an Aug. 7 incident in which a 47-year-old man was shot in the chest at a home in Warren.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Thursday in a written statement that the decision to decline prosecution was based solely on the application of Maine law regarding the use of deadly force.
“The decision is not intended to and does not contain any opinion on whether other actions could have been taken which might have eliminated the need to use deadly force,” Rushlau stated.
The district attorney said it would be inappropriate to release the names of the people involved since no one was charged and they have privacy interests that could be affected by public disclosure.
The 47-year-old man had been staying at the residence of a 65-year-old man. The 19-year-old son of the older resident was home from college and staying at his father’s residence.
The two older men had been drinking and the 47-year-old became intoxicated and increasingly argumentative. The arguments eventually became physical, the prosecutor stated in his report.
The son had ignored the arguing until it became physical and he intervened to protect his father. The 47-year-old guest became more violent and irrational and threatened to kill the younger man.
The son went and got a .357-caliber revolver his father kept loaded in a closet and pointed it at the guest and ordered him to leave.
The guest approached the younger man and repeated that he would kill him and that is when the 19-year-old believed his life was in danger and fired the handgun once, striking the older man in the chest, the district attorney stated in his report.
The 19-year-old called 911. The 47-year-old man who had been shot continued to be aggressive despite his wound and had to be restrained by the homeowner until deputies from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office arrived.
Lt. Reginald Walker interviewed the father and son and their stories were consistent, according to Rushlau.
Walker then interviewed the 47-year-old at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor on Aug. 10 and the man said he did not recall being shot.
The man told the lieutenant that he did not want the youth charged because he was a “very good boy.”
The man who was shot had a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle, according to the district attorney’s statement.
The prosecutor commended Lt. Walker for his decision to defer making an arrest the day of the shooting.
“An arrest would have been lawful. Arrests can be made if an officer has probable cause, a relatively low level of proof. Officers can also defer making an arrest until their investigation has been completed,” Rushlau said. “The decision on whether to make an immediate arrest, or to defer arrest, can be a difficult one. The need to ensure public safety will frequently result in an immediate arrest even when an investigation is not complete. Lt. Walker exercised an appropriate degree of discretion when he concluded public safety would not be compromised while he completed his investigation.”
Excellent insightful update. Thank you BDN.
lol!
shot with a .357 and lives?
how?
Just a flesh wound.
Because this isn’t the movies, and people don’t explode when they are shot. Being shot in the chest doesn’t always mean shot in the heart. There are a few places (upper-right side of chest) where a round wouldn’t pierce the lung or spine.
Shot placement is probably a larger factor than the inherent energy of the bullet itself.
Oh okay, now I get it, I can rest better now.
It was not a magnum thats how.
Guy must have been pretty well smashed to have taken a hit from a .357 Mag in the chest………..and not be able to remember it, and he could still fight after being shot.
Proof that one can get into just as much trouble with LEGAL drugs as he can with ILLEGAL ones!
I agree with all of that except the “mag” part. The ‘magnum’ moniker denotes the round being used, not the actual weapon (there is no such thing as a “.357 Magnum” pistol). Since the story doesn’t state it was a magnum round, then I assume it was a standard round.
But yeah…shot in the chest and too drunk to notice. Yikes!
Excuse us for the magnum comment, and thanks for the lesson on it, I can sleep better now knowing that he was not shot by a .357 magnum.
I’m sorry that a little education frightens you.
at least he took responsibilty for his actions knew his was wrong . he knew the kid was right chance for him. sobriety maybe he learned
Now THIS is a story. Thank you BDN!
The house guest from he*l! I think we’ve all known a few that turn Jekyll and Hyde when they drink, but this one really flipped!
I do agree deadly force was called for in this situation. I am thankful the young man did not kill him, for the young mans sake (although he would have been within his rights). That would’vehave been tough to live with the rest of his life. I also applaud the guy who was shot for taking responsibility for his actions, unsual in this day and age.
Finally, one that goes right :) I’m glad the man who got shot realized the 19 year old was defending his father.
So the guy would have been charge if he shot the other guy in the leg? What a ridiculous headline.