FARMINGTON — Timothy Danforth, charged with murder in the June shooting death of Michael Reis of New Sharon, was ordered held without bail Friday following his arraignment in Franklin County Superior Court.
Danforth, 24, pleaded not guilty before Justice William Stokes to a charge of intentional knowing murder after his arrest Thursday. He was indicted this week by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault.
He appeared in court at 2:30 p.m. and was represented by the attorney of the day, Chris Berryment, but has secured attorney Sarah Glynn of South Paris to represent him, according to Stokes.
Assistant Attorney General Roger Ellis is prosecuting the case and has requested a harnish hearing in the case. Danforth will stay in jail at the Franklin County Detention Center until it’s held. No date has been set for the hearing, which decides a request from prosecutors that a capital defendant be held without bail. The state must show probable cause that a capital crime was committed, the defendant is a substantial flight risk, he’s a risk to the community or he’s at risk to commit more crimes if not jailed.
While a harnish hearing is required to be held no more than five days after an arraignment, Stokes said in Danforth’s case it will be day-by-day until Danforth’s attorney has an opportunity to familiarize herself with the case.
Reis was shot shortly before 1 a.m. outside a mobile home in Wilton on June 1, which Thursday’s release said was the residence of Danforth’s father. It is not clear if he is the owner, and Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland did not know the father’s name.
Reis was a member of a group that had gone to the residence and got into a confrontation with the home’s occupants, including Danforth and his father, according to police.
McCausland declined to comment Thursday on why there was more than a two-month delay in the arrest of Danforth when the shooter had been identified shortly after the shooting.
Investigators released little information in the two months since the shooting, including the names of the people who lived in the home or the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Lt. Brian McDonough, of the state police, said at a news conference the day of the shooting that there were several people at the residence when the shooting occurred and that they were all cooperating with the investigation.
Thursday’s press release gave no details on the nature of the confrontation.
In a brief phone interview with the Morning Sentinel on Thursday, McCausland said all further details will come out through court paperwork and judicial proceedings.
Police received a 911 call from the residence around 12:45 a.m. on June 1, stating that a person had been shot. By the time police arrived at the scene, Reis had been taken by a friend to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, where he was pronounced dead.
Lauren Abbate — 861-9252
Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate
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