AUGUSTA — A murder suspect from New York City who allegedly stole the car of an Augusta resident who unwittingly drove him to Maine from Connecticut was captured in Ohio on Friday.

Police said Raymond Mayrant, 25, was tracked to a mission that helps the homeless in Warren, Ohio, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Mayrant is suspected of stealing a 1998 Nissan Altima from outside the home of an Augusta resident who gave him a ride from Connecticut to Augusta, police said. Police have not released the resident’s name.

Police in New York City said Mayrant shot his girlfriend and her mother during an argument on Jan. 3. The mother, Elzina Brown, 59, died at the scene, the Associated Press reported.

Augusta Deputy Police Chief Jared Mills said Mayrant met the Augusta resident, who is a long-haul trucker, and a relative in Connecticut on Jan. 4.

“They befriended him when they stopped to take a break, and agreed to let Mayrant ride back to Maine with them,” Mills said Friday. “They were unaware that he was wanted for murder.”

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On Thursday, police searched in Maine for Mayrant, who was seen at a Motel 6 in Augusta asking if he needed a passport to get into Canada, the AP reported.

Mills said Mayrant apparently was in Augusta from Sunday until Wednesday morning, when he allegedly stole the Nissan.

Police found there was a warrant for Mayrant’s arrest in the homicide in New York City when they ran his name through a national database while investigating the car theft, Mills said.

The car was recovered in Warren, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania state line, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

McCausland said Maine State Police were told by New York City police Friday that Mayrant had been arrested in Ohio.

 

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Keith Edwards can be contacted at 621-5647 or at:

kedwards@centralmaine.com

 


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