A Wilton man faces multiple charges after his arrest in the June 1 shooting death of Michael Reis of New Sharon.

Timothy Danforth, 24, was charged this week with killing Reis, 24, at 259 Weld Road in Wilton, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Maine State Police detectives arrested Danforth after his indictment by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault, according to McCausland.

Reis was shot shortly after midnight outside a mobile home which McCausland said is the residence of Danforth’s father, though it’s not clear if he’s the owner.

Reis was part of a group that had gone to the mobile home and gotten into a confrontation with the home’s occupants, including Danforth and his father. The father’s name was not immediately available.

McCausland declined to comment on why police waited two months to arrest Danforth, even though authorities had identified him as the gunman shortly after the incident.

Advertisement

McCausland said “all further details will come out in court paperwork and judicial proceedings.”

Danforth was held Thursday at the Franklin County Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance either Friday or Monday, McCausland said.

McCausland did not know where Danforth was arrested Thursday, but said he works at Hillandale Farms egg farm in Turner.

After the shooting, Reis was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, where he was pronounced dead.

The indictments were handed up by the grand jury this week. A spokesman for the Maine Attorney General’s Office didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment, and no other details were available Thursday night.

State police Lt. Brian McDonough said on the day of the shooting that the gunman had been identified, but police have released no information since then.

McDonough said at the news conference that several people were at the residence at the time of the shooting and that they were cooperating with the investigation.

Danforth has prior criminal convictions for minor offenses. Court records show he was fined $350 in October 2014 for marijuana possession and fined $500, with a 48-hour jail sentence and 150-day license suspension in November, for operating under the influence.

Reis was a 2010 graduate of Mount Blue High School in Farmington and grew up in New Sharon, according to his obituary.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: