An accused drug dealer from Old Orchard Beach is the prime suspect in the killing of Charles Raybine, a Biddeford man who was shot three times in the face on March 26 as he sat in a rental car, according to court records.

Although no one has been charged, police said in court papers that they suspected from the start that Bub Peter Nguany, 25, killed Raybine.

Nguany was arrested within hours of Raybine’s death as he tried to leave his Old Orchard Beach home in a taxicab, and has remained in custody since.

Details are emerging now after Nguany made his initial appearance in York County Superior Court last week in two other cases.

Nguany had been arrested two days before Raybine’s death in a traffic stop on Saco Avenue in Old Orchard Beach and charged with two felonies, illegal possession of a firearm and aggravated operation of a vehicle after his license had been revoked as a habitual offender.

During his arrest on the morning after Raybine’s killing, police seized bags of crack cocaine from Nguany and found a .45-caliber pistol and ammunition in his backpack, according to an affidavit police filed seeking a search warrant after Nguany’s second arrest.

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That search warrant affidavit lays out why police believe property seized from Nguany is evidence in Raybine’s killing.

Police were called at 1 a.m. on March 26 to Parish Place Apartments in Biddeford, where they found Raybine, 47, shot several times in the face with a .45-caliber handgun.

Police said Raybine had been a known drug user and, based on witness statements, had been smoking crack cocaine and drinking while playing cards at an apartment in the complex at 41 Birch St.

At one point during the night, Raybine and his nephew, Morgan Palmer, went outside and sat in Raybine’s car, although the affidavit does not say why. Two cars pulled up, one on either side of the parking lot. The occupants were talking loudly, though the affidavit does not say about what.

Palmer told police a man got out of the front passenger seat of one of the cars, a dark Toyota Prius, and walked over to Raybine’s car. Palmer described him as 6 feet tall, 175 to 200 pounds, black, wearing a baseball cap and dark jacket, and possibly a hooded sweatshirt, the affidavit said.

The man pointed to Palmer and asked, “Yo, who you with, who’s this?” the affidavit says. Raybine answered, “That’s Mo.” The man then fired a gun at Raybine’s face.

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An autopsy found Raybine died of multiple gunshots to the head and neck.

Palmer ran away after the shooting and called 911. Old Orchard Beach police Officer Scott Jarrett heard the report describing the suspect, which matched the description of Nguany, whom the officer had arrested just two days before, driving a rented Prius with New York plates.

Another Old Orchard Beach police officer, Cpl. Jamie Ladakakos, spotted a blue Prius with New York plates near Nguany’s residence on East Grand Avenue.

Jarrett staked out the vehicle for five hours, until a man matching Nguany’s description came out of 45 East Grand Ave., went to the Prius, then returned to the apartment.

Shortly before 9 a.m., the same man, now carrying a black Army backpack, left the apartment and got into a taxi, followed by a woman. Jarrett pulled over the taxi and arrested Nguany on the outstanding warrants, the court papers said.

Jarrett searched Nguany and found a large amount of cash, two bags of what appeared to be crack cocaine and a black leather pistol holster, the court papers said. Police also recovered two cellphones.

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That afternoon, police obtained a search warrant to go through the backpack, where they found a Glock .45-caliber handgun and two six-round ammunition magazines, one with five rounds and one with one round in it.

The ammunition was .45-caliber Winchester, the same as the casings recovered at the killing scene. The three slugs removed from Raybine during the autopsy appeared to be .45 caliber, the court papers said.

Nguany’s attorney, Luke Rioux, who represented him at his appearance last week in York County Superior Court, said he was not surprised.

“I understood him to be a suspect,” Rioux said.

Nguany is currently being held on $10,000 bail for the charges stemming from his arrest two days before Raybine’s death. He is being held on $50,000 cash bail on charges in the case stemming from his arrest the day of the killing. He faces two counts of aggravated drug trafficking, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.

An unrelated court file shows Nguany was indicted this month by a Cumberland County grand jury on charges of criminal speeding, drunken driving, failure to stop for an officer, and driving after his license was revoked on March 2. Police were called after Nguany and another man allegedly took food without paying at a Portland gas station. They were pulled over in South Portland after going about 80 mph, 50 mph over the 30-mph speed limit on Main Street, court papers said.

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Nguany refused to take a breath test after failing a field sobriety test.

 

— Staff Writer David Hench contributed to this report.

 

Scott Dolan can be contacted at: 791-6304 or at

sdolan@mainetoday.com

 


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