AUGUSTA — A Fairfield man fired at least a dozen shots at another person over the weekend during a domestic dispute in Waterville, prosecutors said Monday in court.
A judge at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta ordered Maurice Watkins-Cundiff, 29, held on $1 million bail.
Watkins-Cundiff was initially charged with seven offenses following the shooting early Sunday on Pleasant Street. He now faces five charges, including attempted murder, domestic violence criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated criminal mischief.
Watkins-Cundiff did not enter a plea Monday.
Police were called to Pleasant Street just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday after receiving reports of shots fired in the residential neighborhood.
Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James said in court Monday that Watkins-Cundiff had argued with an “intimate partner,” punched her in the face and then pointed a gun at her.
He then allegedly began firing rounds at the victim as she and another person attempted to leave the scene in a car. Officers found 13 bullet casings and a “trail of car fluids” near the scene, Murray-James said.
Police said Watkins-Cundiff left the scene with his headlights off and traveled to Head of Falls in Waterville, where officers found and arrested him.
Police also said they found the gun Watkins-Cundiff allegedly used during the domestic dispute.
During his arrest, Watkins-Cundiff signed an agreement he would have no contact with the alleged victim, the prosecutor said, but Watkins-Cundiff still called her twice to ask for help making bond.
The $1 million bail was sought by authorities because of what they said was the nature of the crimes early Sunday and Watkins-Cundiff’s criminal history in Massachusetts.
Deputy Chief William L. Bonney of the Waterville Police Department wrote in an email Monday the case remained under investigation. A canine team with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police assisted Waterville police at the scene to help recover evidence. Bonney did not say what evidence had been collected.
Bonney said Sunday several rounds hit the car as it fled the scene. Watkins-Cundiff reportedly tried to pursue the vehicle, but was unsuccessful.
Bonney described the incident as “an incredibly dangerous situation.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James.
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