LEWISTON — The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit has obtained an arrest warrant for Jaquile Coleman, 26, of Lewiston, charging him with the murder of Natasha Morgan, 19, of Lewiston, who was killed Friday on Scribner Boulevard.
Jaquile Coleman
Police are asking for information on Coleman’s location. Coleman should be considered armed and the public should not approach him, but call 911 instead.
Neighbors reported hearing three to five shots ring out in front of a home at 175 Scribner Blvd. about 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by a woman screaming.
When police and rescue crews arrived moments later, Morgan was found laying on the ground near the driveway, unresponsive, bleeding from two gunshot wounds.
Witnesses said the gunman had fled in a car shortly after the shots rang out.
In a Facebook post, Natasha Morgan’s mother, Liza Morgan, described the incident as a “domestic situation.”
A photo of Natasha Morgan shared on Facebook by her family. Morgan was killed in Lewiston on Friday. Submitted photo
She said Coleman picked up their 1-year-old daughter from daycare and brought her to the Scribner Boulevard home.
“He wanted to get back together and she didn’t,” Liza Morgan wrote. “The baby was in my car (and) she started to walk away. Then I hear four pops.”
When Liza Morgan looked over, she saw that Coleman had a gun. She got out of her car and ran to check on her daughter.
“She was laying on the ground,” she wrote. “I ran up to his car. He put the gun to my face and I ducked. Then he backed out. I tried to help and revive my daughter before the paramedics and officers arrived. The baby was not harmed but now she has no mother now, but we will let her know how wonderful her mother was, and beautiful, and trying to make a better life for them both.”
After the shooting, at about 6:30 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle, a Chevrolet Cruz with a temporary plate, was found on the dead-end section of Farwell Street, about a mile and a half from the shooting scene. A manhunt ensued, with police snipers and tracking dogs searching for Coleman in that neighborhood.
Police had surrounded a house on Farwell Street extension, near where the car was found, after learning that Coleman may be inside. They were attempting to speak with him through loudspeakers as a crowd of onlookers gathered in the area.
Police surround a home on Farwell Street in Lewiston late Friday after learning the suspect in a fatal shooting may be inside. Submitted photo
According to a neighbor, messages the State Police Tactical Team were sending through the public address system indicated that Coleman may have known the people who lived at the home. Over the address system, police told Coleman: “Your friends are very upset and worried about their dog and want to get back into their home.”
The house is at 207 Farwell St. At about 10:30 p.m., it was reported that a dog had been retrieved from the home. A few minutes later, police burst into the home, but Coleman was not there. Police were said to be searching the garage after they entered the house.
Police also continued to search nearby neighborhoods, including those near the shooting scene.
More than a dozen officers were on the scene Friday and sections of the neighborhood were cordoned off. The crowd of onlookers grew, with some people driving to the area with their children to watch the spectacle. Most gathered in the parking lot behind the credit union where the house in which Coleman was said to be hiding was aglow under a police spotlight.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover funeral costs. The page describes Morgan as “beautiful, kind, loving and caring.” A certified nursing assistant, she was scheduled to start school in the fall to study nursing and intended to become a midwife.
The page goes on to describe her as a devoted mother, loving daughter and very close to all of her siblings.
As of 9:15 p.m. Saturday, more than $8,200 had been raised.
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