AUGUSTA — A 19-year-old is accused of robbing two people at gunpoint and pistol-whipping them in separate incidents eight days apart in Waterville and Winslow.

Bradey Allen Luce, who has addresses in Waterville and Waldoboro in the two charging documents at the Capital Judicial Center, was in front of a judge there Friday via video from the Kennebec County jail.

Luce was arrested Wednesday on two warrants stemming from those complaints.

Judge Paul Mathews told Luce he was charged with committing robbery, burglary, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault, theft by unauthorized taking, stealing drugs, and criminal mischief on Feb. 6, 2018, in Winslow; and with robbery, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and theft by unauthorized taking on Jan. 28, 2017, in Waterville.

Luce, in a green jail uniform over a long-sleeved gray sweatshirt, carried paperwork that he held in front of him in his clasped hands, and he said little.

The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Carie James, requested Mathews set bail at $50,000 cash with conditions prohibiting possession of alcohol, illegal drugs and weapons, and from having contact with the people named as victims and witnesses.

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“The reason for the high bail is this is serious conduct. It’s continued conduct,” she said. “He also has a summons for burglary and theft where he stole a firearm from a girlfriend’s family member.”

She also said Luce was convicted in January of criminal mischief and of marijuana possession. She said the state took Luce’s age into consideration when the latter was charged as a misdemeanor rather than the felony it could have been for the 7.99 ounces of marijuana involved.

Even though Luce is just 19, “he seems to be on a path of significant history within only a few months’ time period,” James said.

Attorney Jonathan Handelman, representing Luce as lawyer of the day, said the $50,000 amount was essentially holding Luce without bail. “Bradey is extremely young,” Handelman said. “He’s 19 years old.”

Handelman suggested $7,000 cash bail with all the conditions requested by the state and noted that Luce turned himself in after learning about a warrant for his arrest.

Mathews set the bail at $50,000, saying, “There is a clear public safety issue,” and citing the involvement of firearms. He said bail could be revisited when an attorney is appointed to Luce’s case.

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Luce’s next court hearing is scheduled for April 12.

Luce is accused of robbing a 20-year-old around noon Feb. 6 after walking into the man’s apartment on Bellevue Street in Winslow, holding him at gunpoint and hitting him with the firearm while demanding money and the location of a safe.

The victim told police that he knew Luce from when they attended Winslow High School together, according to an affidavit by Winslow police Detective Bradley Hubert. The victim said he recognized Luce’s voice and at one point pushed the man’s face mask up.

Hubert said the home security system video shows two masked intruders entering the named man’s apartment, one of them with a gun.

The man said his door had been unlocked because he was expecting a friend. The man said one of the intruders was “pointing the gun at him, saying, ‘Give me your stuff,'” Hubert wrote.

The man told police he was forced down onto his couch, struck numerous times with a pistol and told “he had 10 seconds or 20 seconds to tell him where he was keeping the money and if (the man) did not tell him, he was going to shoot him,” according to Hubert’s affidavit.

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The man also told police that Luce “stuck the gun in his mouth” and the man tasted metal.

While the pistol-whipping was underway, the second intruder was “ripping (the man’s) apartment apart taking items,” according to Hubert.

Items reported stolen included 6 ounces of marijuana worth $1,640, an iPhone, a wallet with $400 cash and $300 in gift cards, a $600 jacket and prescription medication.

Items reported damaged included a water bong, a bubbler, a nectar collector, a $450 Supreme Champion shirt and a $700 gaming computer.

The man said said Luce said “he would kill him” and “have his boss and boys come murder him” if the man reported the attack.

Later that day at the Winslow Police Department, Hubert said he photographed injuries on the man’s face, head and hands.

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In the Waterville incident, Luce is accused of threatening to kill a 17-year-old and striking him on the left side of his face with the barrel and handle of a gun. The pistol-whipping took place Jan. 28 inside a black SUV off West Street, the victim told police, during what was expected to be a sale of $150 of marijuana. The youth then fell from the vehicle and heard someone say, “Go, go, go, go.”

The youth told police he recognized Luce as the man making the threats and striking him, according to an affidavit by Waterville police Officer Cameron Huggins.

Huggins also said he tried to interview Luce at the jail Thursday night about the Waterville incident, but Luce said he had nothing to say.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams


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