AUGUSTA — A city man being held on charges of murder pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a separate indictment charging him with 16 counts of burglary and theft which allegedly occurred before the Nov. 23, 2015, bludgeoning death of Joseph Marceau.

Michael Sean McQuade, 45, of Augusta said “not guilty” to each charge at his brief arraignment Tuesday morning at the Capital Judicial Center, and the case was continued.

He stood next to his attorney, Andrew Dawson.

McQuade is charged with two counts of burglary, six counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, and eight counts of theft by unauthorized taking, all between May 1, 2015, and Nov. 10, 2015, and all in Augusta.

McQuade had pleaded not guilty Jan. 26, 2016, in the same court to a prior indictment charging him with murder, felony murder and robbery, in what police say was a drug-related crime in the killing of Marceau, 31, in an apartment McQuade had been living in.

McQuade’s girlfriend, Zina Marie Fritze, 27, who also was indicted on the murder and robbery charges, committed suicide in jail on Jan. 27, 2016, after she too pleaded not guilty to those offenses.

Marceau was found beaten to death Nov. 23, 2015, in the couple’s Washington Street apartment.

Another man, Damik Davis, 26, of Queens, New York, who was arrested shortly after Marceau’s body was found, also pleaded not guilty to murder in three separate forms — intentional or knowing or depraved indifference — as well as felony murder, murder, and robbery, all related to Marceau’s death. A warrant is out for a fourth person police say was involved in the robbery, 26-year-old Aubrey Armstrong of Far Rockaway, New York.

McQuade had been out on bail on a number of the burglary and theft charges when the murder occurred.


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