SKOWHEGAN — The man accused of killing his father about three months ago in Cambridge said Thursday he didn’t do it.
Angelo V. Licata, 33, of Detroit, pleaded not guilty in Somerset County Superior Court to the single charge of murder.
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Dressed in blue pants and an orange sweatshirt, he answered “yes, sir” and “yes, your honor” when Judge John Nivison asked if he understood his rights and the charges against him during the five-minute arraignment hearing.
If convicted, Licata faces between 25 years and life in prison. He is accused of killing his father, Alfred P. Licata, 63, on July 21 in the small Somerset County town of Cambridge.
On that night, police responded to a 911 call from Alfred Licata’s wife, Arlene, who said that while she was upstairs she heard banging and yelling downstairs, according to a court affidavit.
She told Somerset County Sheriff’s Office deputies she went downstairs and saw blood all over their kitchen and was scared, according to the affidavit. Her husband was found dead outside on a lawn near their home at 14 Ham Hill Road.
Maine State Police later interviewed a neighbor who said he went to the home around the time of the 911 call. The neighbor said he was met by a young man who told him he should not go inside, court papers state.
Police also interviewed a friend of Angelo Licata’s who said the accused had come to his house in Waterville around 10:30 or 11 p.m., crying, and said he had killed his father, court papers state.
Early the next morning, Angelo Licata went to the Waterville police station where he was arrested.
On Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said, “There really isn’t a lot to say.”
Defense attorney Peter Barnett reiterated the point, saying, “At this point we have very little discovery from the Attorney General’s Office,” and it would be premature to discuss a defense strategy.
The earliest the case would go to trial would be in May, Barnett said. But with two other pending murder cases in Somerset County, Licata’s could get pushed back to August.
Barnett told Nivison he needed more time to collect information before a special proceeding known as a Harnish hearing can be held. At a Harnish hearing, the prosecution asks that a defendant’s right to bail be extinguished.
Until that hearing, Licata will continue to be held without bail at Somerset County Jail.
No family arrived for the hearing Thursday, and efforts to reach Licata’s mother and one of his brothers were unsuccessful.
According to his obituary, Alfred Licata moved to Maine in 1987 and started A.L. Distributors Inc. in 1994, which he owned and operated for 15 years. He loved music, singing, worshipping, reading, studying and fishing.
Erin Rhoda — 612-2368
erhoda@centralmaine.com
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