WATERVILLE — A man incarcerated at the Kennebec County jail in Augusta faces up to 30 years in prison for allegedly shooting a man in the face with a BB gun, seriously injuring his eye, in what Waterville police say was a random shooting.
Cody Dutton, 21, of King Street in Waterville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with elevated aggravated assault, a Class A crime, after police searched his home and found evidence related to the case, according to Waterville Deputy Police Chief Bill Bonney.
Dutton also was charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief related to cases around the city last week where windows had been shot by BBs, Bonney said Wednesday.
Around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, a 38-year-old man was shot in the face while walking down the street with friends near the intersection of Main and North streets, according to Bonney.
“He was seriously injured after being shot in the eye and the status of his eye is unknown at this point,” he said.
The man was taken by ambulance to Thayer Center for Health on North Street.
Witnesses gave a description of the vehicle from which the BB gun was fired, and police began to make connections with the BB gun incidents from the previous week. Bonney said the shooting became a top priority for police when an innocent person was shot while walking down a street.
Detective Chase Fabian was given the case Monday and quickly identified the vehicle and its owner, Bonney said.
“We cleared several criminal mischief cases along with the elevated aggravated assault,” Bonney said. “The patrol and detective division worked tirelessly to bring this case to a close, because it was such an interest to public safety. To wrap it up as quickly as they did is really a testament to their police work.”
Dutton’s bail was set at $2,000. Bonney said he would go before a judge this week.
He said there were three other people in the vehicle with Dutton when the shooting took place and police are considering other potential charges. Juveniles were involved in the case, he said. He said there is no indication Dutton knew the man he shot and it appeared as if the shooting was random.
A Class A crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and is “the most serious crime we have in Maine, right below murder,” Bonney said.
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