LEWISTON — During a Friday court hearing, a prosecutor likened a shootout in a local neighborhood last weekend to a “scene out of the O.K. Corral.”
Deputy District Attorney Neil McLean told 8th District Court Judge Sarah Churchill that police believe Rocyris Storer, 24, of Lewiston had ducked behind a motor vehicle around 3 a.m. Saturday, June 25, in the area of 199 Bartlett St.
Storer had apparently heard gunshots before taking cover.
Video footage from city surveillance cameras and private business cameras showed someone later identified as Storer shooting from behind a vehicle in the direction of a man identified as Wany Anyit, 32, of Topsham.
Police found an injured Anyit shortly after a report of shots fired in that area. He was taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds to his arm and leg, McLean said.
According to a police affidavit, Anyit had an altercation with a larger man shortly before the report of gunshots. Anyit appeared to punch the man in the face before he retreated to a nearby parking area.
The larger man pursued him; Anyit brandished a gun and fired it, McLean said.
Defense attorney Jason Ranger told the judge Friday that Storer, who appeared in court by videoconference from Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, had fired in self-defense.
But McLean said police review of the evidence indicated Anyit hadn’t been shooting in Storer’s direction.
According to an affidavit written by Detective Craig Johnson, police found three groupings of shell casings, each of a different caliber, suggesting there were three people at the scene at that time who were shooting guns. The third suspected shooter hasn’t been identified by police.
Anyit was believed to have fired a .45-caliber handgun, which police recovered at the scene.
Police identified Storer on the video footage from his clothing, his distinctive braided hair with “bleached” ends and tattoos, according to the affidavit.
He was taken into custody Thursday and told police that he had been at the scene of the altercation and shooting on June 25.
Storer said he had his back turned when the initial shot was fired.
He said he turned to see one of the men in the argument shoot at the other man, neither of whom he knew.
Storer told police “he felt in fear for his life” and decided to shoot at the man firing a gun, guessing he fired about four rounds, according to the affidavit. Then he fled the area, through Paradis Park and onto Pierce Street, then to a friend’s home on Horton Street, he told police.
He said the gun he used belonged to a friend. Three hours after the shooting, he returned his friend’s gun to him, Storer said, according to the affidavit.
Johnson wrote that video footage showed the shooter believed to be Storer was firing not only at Anyit, but in the vicinity of two people near him, as well as a vehicle that was backing up.
“There are also people dispersing and running about, so there are other citizens that were endangered by this conduct,” McLean told the judge Friday. “There were multiple apartment units in that area, people living in that area, and the state would argue that they were all put into danger by this conduct,” McLean said.
“This is a very chaotic, hectic scene,” he said. Police recovered “at least 24” shell casings in the residential area and in the general vicinity of where the defendant is believed to have been, McLean said.
“This is conduct that shows an extreme disregard for public safety generally,” he told the judge. “That’s very concerning. It certainly also shows an extreme disregard generally to the risks to public safety. This sounds like a scene out of the O.K. Corral, where individuals are just shooting at each other in a highly populated area.”
During Storer’s arrest, police found a bag of crack cocaine weighing 3.5 grams.
He’s been charged with three felonies, including elevated aggravated assault, a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Storer also was charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, each charge punishable by up to five years in prison.
He didn’t enter any pleas Friday because felony charges must be handed up by a grand jury to proceed to trial.
Judge Churchill set bail at $20,000 cash.
“It is concerning that there is a shootout on a public street in a residential neighborhood in a highly populated area,” she said. “That is a concern for public safety that has a high probability (of) those types of events of injuring innocent bystanders who are not involved in whatever dispute started this situation.”
She said she had a “very significant public safety concern.”
Churchill also pointed to the complexity of the police investigation into reconstructing the scene of the shootout in an effort to determine who fired which shots in which direction.
“There are some interesting issues there,” she said.
If Storer were able to post bail, he would be barred from having any dangerous weapons, including firearms, for which he could be searched at random, Churchill said.
He may not have any alcohol or illegal drugs for which he can be searched if suspected of having them.
Storer is barred from having any contact with Anyit.
The judge imposed a curfew on Storer from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying, “I had ringing in the back of my head my mother’s voice that said, ‘You know, nothing good happens after midnight.'”
Anyit has been charged with reckless conduct with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, violation of conditions of release and refusing to submit to arrest.