ROCKLAND — A Tenants Harbor man charged with killing his drug supplier for cutting him off has pleaded not guilty.

Andrew Kierstead was arraigned Wednesday in Knox County Superior Court on a murder charge in connection with the Sept. 27 shooting of Richard Mills outside his Cushing home. Kierstead remains behind bars without bail.

The Bangor Daily News reports that the judge also denied the prosecution’s request for a forensic evaluation of Kierstead to determine his state of mind at the time of the shooting following objections from the defense.

Police say Kierstead told them he fired a shotgun repeatedly at Mills because the victim had hooked him on drugs and had been supplying him for 10 or 15 years, but then shut him off for not paying a drug debt.


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