AUBURN — An Auburn man who was charged in July with shooting another man in the local Walmart parking lot was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury Monday on a charge of intentional or knowing murder.

The indictment against Gage Dalphonse, 21, comes less than a week after Justice William Stokes ordered that Dalphonse be held without bail pending trial in the shooting death of Jean Fournier, 41, of Turner on July 27.

In his 6-page order filed on Oct. 1 in Androscoggin County Superior Court, Stokes wrote that “the defendant made the decision to use deadly force very rapidly and there was no evidence suggesting that he made any effort to resort to less-than-deadly force as a response to Mr. Fournier.”

Several witnesses told police that Fournier’s girlfriend had called Dalphonse a “little bitch” as he drove through the Walmart parking lot shortly before 7 p.m. July 27. He retorted, calling her a “whore.”

Witnesses said Fournier followed the direction of Dalphonse’s car, which eventually parked in the lot. Fournier walked up to the open driver’s side window and talked to Dalphonse.

Dalphonse told police in an interview that Fournier told him to apologize to his girlfriend. Dalphonse said he wouldn’t, but would apologize to Fournier. He said he felt threatened by Fournier, who told him he was going to “f****** kill” him.

Dalphonse told police Fournier started to reach into his car, so Dalphonse reached for his handgun, which he carried in a holster at the front of his pants. He said he grabbed his gun and shot two rounds from his window at Fournier.

Witnesses said Fournier had started to take a couple of steps toward the back of the car when he yelled, “Gun!” and “Run!”

Comments are not available on this story.