Lewiston man charged with Poland double murder appears in court, held without bail

AUBURN — A Lewiston man charged with the murder of two men in a Poland mobile home last month appeared in court Monday.

Aaron Aldrich of Lewiston appears Monday in Androscoggin County Superior Court by video conference from Androscoggin County Jail for his initial appearance on two murder charges. Screenshot from video

Androscoggin County Superior Court Justice Harold Stewart II read the two charges of intentional or knowing murder to Aaron Aldrich, 46, who appeared for the hearing by videoconference from Androscoggin County Jail.

He was dressed in an orange jail suit.

Aldrich said he had no questions about the charges.

Justice Stewart told Aldrich he wouldn’t be asked to enter pleas to the charges Monday.

Stewart said evidence supporting the charges are expected to be presented to a grand jury who, if they find probable cause that Aldrich committed the crimes, would return an indictment on the two charges.

A felony charge cannot go to trial without an indictment unless the defendant waives the grand jury indictment.

Stewart appointed Farmington attorney Thomas Michael Carey as Aldrich’s lawyer and Ashley Perry as co-counsel.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue asked that Aldrich be held without bail.

Carey said he wouldn’t oppose that motion, but reserved the right to ask for a hearing on bail at a later date.

Each murder charge is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

Aldrich is charged with murder in the deaths of Shoeb Mohamed Aden, 21, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Mohamed Aden, 16, of Lewiston, who were found deceased at 25 Tripp Road in Poland by police who were dispatched to that address on Feb. 21 to perform a welfare check.

No further details of the killings have been made public. An affidavit by police establishing probable cause for Aldrich’s arrest has been impounded by the judge.

Aldrich was arrested in New Hampshire on unrelated property crimes in that state.

He had been held at Rockingham County Jail in Brentwood, New Hampshire. He waived extradition and was brought back to Maine on Thursday by Maine State Police detectives.