Portland police arrested a 42-year-old man in connection with a nearly nine-year-old homicide case.

Police said at a press conference Thursday that Stephen Versluis Jr. was arrested Wednesday morning in the 2017 death of Sunao “Tom” Yamada. A spokesperson for the Maine Office of the Attorney General said Thursday that Versluis has been charged with murder.

According to police, Yamada was found dead on Temple Street in downtown Portland. His cause of death was never released.

Portland police said in a release Thursday that Yamada was a kind and gentle man who enjoyed reading, playing games and spending time with his friends. Yamada also struggled with homelessness, police said. An obituary published in a Sept. 29, 2018 edition of the Portland Press Herald said “in his best moments, he was humble, hospitable, respectful, curious, and eclectic.”

Authorities wouldn’t disclose further details about the case and court documents with more information were sealed Thursday morning.

Police said at the press conference that the FBI, Seacoast Crime Stoppers, Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and attorney general’s office assisted in the investigation.

Versluis was arrested at the Maine State Prison before being transported to the Cumberland County Jail on Wednesday morning, according to jail records.

Maine Department of Corrections spokesperson Jill O’Brien said in a statement Thursday that Versluis was arrested at the prison “immediately upon finishing the unsuspended portion of a prison sentence.”

According to court records, Versluis pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and unlawful sexual contact in connection with an incident in 2019. He violated his probation in 2024, records show.

He was being held at the Portland jail without bail on Thursday, intake staff said. Versluis is scheduled to appear in court Friday, authorities and court clerks confirmed.

Staff Writer Emily Allen contributed to this reporting.