LEWISTON — Two men appeared in District Court Monday to face charges stemming from an exchange of gunfire over the weekend that police said involved an attempted theft of drugs.

Quentaris J. Leonard, 33, of 135.5 Bartlett St., was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a Class C crime, punishable by up to five years in prison.

James L. Crump, 41, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was charged with attempted elevated aggravated assault, a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He also has been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and reckless conduct with a firearm, both Class C felonies and punishable by up to five years in prison.

Crump, also known as “Jynx,” fired shots from a .44-caliber handgun at Leonard in the stairwell at 135.5 Bartlett St. around 6 a.m. Saturday, police said in an affidavit. Crump appeared to have fired shots from the second story in the direction of the third floor and into the apartment on that floor, police said.

Police found bullet holes in the third-floor apartment door where Leonard was living, as well as the wallboard and windowsill in that apartment, according to the affidavit.

Shell casings from a smaller caliber gun were found on the third-floor landing, apparently deposited there by a shooter firing downward to the second floor landing, police said.

Tenants on the second floor told police they called 911 after hearing the shots. Bullets fired from outside their apartment appeared to have pierced their walls and lodged in their ceiling. They had two children in their apartment at the time of the shooting.

Leonard told police he was a drug dealer and a member of the Blood gang. Police seized a small bag of cocaine in his apartment.

Detective David Levesque, who filed the affidavit, wrote that: “It is highly likely Leonard was correct in believing “PZ” and Crump wanted to steal his three pounds of marijuana from him.” The man identified in the affidavit as “PZ” has not been charged in the shooting.

Crump’s bail was set at $50,000. He was ordered by Judge Rick Lawrence not to have any firearms, alcohol and illegal drugs for which he could be searched at random. He was ordered not to have contact with others charged in the incident as well as witnesses in the case.

Assistant District Attorney Katherine Bozeman wanted Crump’s bail set at $100,000, saying he had a “fairly substantial criminal history” outside of Maine dating back 17 years as well as a conviction in this state from last year.

James Howaniec, Crump’s court-appointed attorney, told the judge that his client “is just adamantly denying his involvement” in the incident.

Jason Ranger was appointed to represent Leonard, whose bail was set at $10,000 cash or $5,000 with supervised release.

He was ordered not to have firearms, alcohol and illegal drugs for which he could be searched at random. He also was ordered to have no contact with co-defendants and witnesses.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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