Timothy Ortiz, 22, of Brooklyn, entered no plea on charges he shot and killed Jonathon Methot at a duplex at 68-70 West Cutts St. in Biddeford just after 1 a.m. Sept. 26.
Ortiz’s defense attorney, Jon C. Gale, asked the court for more time to review the facts of the case before entering a plea.
Assistant Attorney General Meg Elam requested that Ortiz continue to be held without bail pending further court dates. Judge Wayne Douglas granted Elam’s request, saying grand jury proceedings would likely begin in November.
Little is known about the shooting. Police affidavits have been sealed per request of the state, and a motive has not been made clear by police.
Police have also not said if the accused and the victim knew each other.
State documents show Methot was listed as a resident of 68 West Cutts St. on Aug. 23. Ortiz was listed as a resident of 11 Windsor Lane in Biddeford as of Aug. 26.
Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to comment on the investigation in a telephone interview Friday, saying details will become apparent through court proceedings.
“The details of the investigation … will likely come out as his case now proceeds in the court system. There is no additional information we’re releasing today on that,” McCausland said Friday. “Any new information is going to come out through the court process.”
Ortiz was arrested in Portland following the shooting on probation violation charges. He had been on probation for crimes out of New York unrelated to the shooting, McCausland said Friday in a press release.
Ortiz also has a criminal history in Maine. In February, he was sentenced to four years in jail, with all but one year suspended, and three years’ probation for Class B aggravated sex trafficking and Class C unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs.
He was held at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland until Friday, when he was formally charged with murder in Cumberland County Superior Court. He is now being held without bail at the York County Jail in Alfred. A dispositional conference has been set for April 13.
The Maine Department of Drug Enforcement is also involved in the investigation to determine if Methot’s death may have been drug-related. Residents of the tiny neighborhood west of downtown said last week that they often see drug deals taking place outside their homes, and McCausland said that several people were in the apartment at the time of Methot’s death.
Methot also had a criminal history, including convictions on charges of unlawful furnishing and possession of scheduled drugs, domestic violence assault, violating conditions of release and operating under the influence.
— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].
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