FARMINGTON — A debt involving marijuana was at the heart of a June 1 dispute in Wilton that ended with the shooting death of Michael Reis and led to a murder charge against Timothy Danforth, attorneys disclosed in court today.
Meanwhile, a Franklin County judge was expected to issue a written decision today on the possibility of bail for Danforth, the Wilton man charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Reis.
Danforth, 24, who appeared in Franklin County Superior Court this morning for the bail hearing, has been held without bail at the Franklin County Jail since he was arrested last month. At the hearing, Justice William Stokes said he needed to review the police affidavit filed in the case before making a determination if bail was an option because Danforth is charged with intentional and knowing murder, a capital offense.
Stokes said he hoped to file the written bail order with the court by the end of the day. The affidavit remains under court seal.
Danforth’s attorney, Sarah Glynn, said the defense is not contesting that the affidavit contains probable cause alleging that Danforth killed Reis, but the defense is contesting that he intentionally and knowingly caused Reis’s death. Danforth pleaded not guilty to the murder charge at his initial court hearing last month.
Reis was a member of a group of people who went to the 259 Weld Road mobile home shortly after midnight on June 1 and got into a confrontation with the home’s occupants, which included Danforth, his father Robert Danforth, and Danforth’s fiancée. The disagreement stemmed from a debt over marijuana between Robert Danforth and another person not there at the time of the shooting, according to statements made in court today by Glynn and Assistant Attorney General Robert Ellis, who is prosecuting the case.
Danforth shot Reis three times at close range, according to Ellis. After being shot, members of the group Reis was with took him to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, where he was pronounced dead.
Police identified Danforth as the shooter the day of the shooting, and Ellis said he has been cooperating and claiming self defense since the investigation began.
With the group of people making it as far as the porch of the mobile home, Glynn said Danforth acted in defense of the home he shared with his father and his fiancée, though it was not clear where the shooting happened.
“His involvement was protection of his home and protection of his father,” she said.
Ellis said that given the charge, he would advocate that Danforth be held without bail pending trial. However, if Stokes did grant Danforth bail, Ellis said he would argue for a $150,000 cash bail with conditions including no contact provisions with eight of the witnesses listed in the affidavit along with prohibiting Danforth form using dangerous weapons, illegal drugs or alcohol.
Ellis argued that Danforth would be a good candidate for bail given that he has remained cooperative with police and did not flee the area in the two months between the shooting and his arrest last month.
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