WATERVILLE — State police continue to investigate the February shooting death of a Winslow man on South Grove Street in the city’s South End, as neighbors wait for more information to be released in the case.
The shooting occurred on the morning of Feb. 19. The next day, the Maine Department of Public Safety reported that Justin Iraola, 22, died from multiple gunshot wounds, following an autopsy performed by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta.
Contacted this week, Public Safety spokeswoman Shannon Moss said the investigation is active and she did not have a timetable for when police will release additional information.
“Every death and-or homicide investigation is complex and presents its own unique set of challenges,” Moss said in an email. “Sometimes these investigations can take days, weeks, months or sometimes years.”
Detectives, evidence response technicians and prosecutors have one shot at a case, so they must be diligent and methodical in their work, Moss said in response to a question about the length of the ongoing investigation.
“The goal is always the integrity of the investigation and the victims and their families,” she said.
Waterville police initially responded to the shooting, which occurred outside a duplex at 16-18 South Grove St., shortly after 8 a.m. Feb. 19. The shooting occurred in front of the 18 South Grove part of the duplex, which is the southernmost unit. Law enforcement from multiple departments responded to the scene, as did the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit. Waterville dispatch logs at the time described the incident as a homicide.
The duplex at 16-18 South Grove St. in Waterville, shown Feb. 20. The shooting occurred outside unit 18, shown here on the right. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel file
The day after the shooting, a young boy answered the door and allowed a reporter to enter 18 South Grove. His mother, who identified herself only as Amanda, was inside, sitting on a couch. She said a man named “Justin” was the person who was killed. She said he had been visiting the home and at some point went outside, after which he was shot. She said her daughter was a witness to the shooting, but wasn’t available to comment at that time. Neighbors at the time said the unit at 18 South Grove was the site of loud parties on weekends, when vehicles arrived with out-of-state plates, lining both sides of the street.
South Grove Street was quiet Tuesday afternoon and the unit at 18 South Grove was vacant. Neighbors said the people who lived there moved out about a month ago and there has been renovation work going on inside.
The neighbors said they think about the shooting all the time and wonder what happened and why no explanation has been given about the circumstances.
“It’s as if it didn’t happen,” said Aryca LeStrange, 35. “That’s what it feels like, as if it didn’t happen, and that the police seem really tight-lipped about it all. But how can a community heal and feel safe if we don’t have any information?”
She said she hoped police would release something about the shooting, just so people know it hasn’t been forgotten.
Justin Nickerson, 38, said there was a lot of activity on the street from law enforcement around the time of the shooting. But now, weeks have gone by, and neighbors have no answers.
“The quiet is just odd,” he said. “It was probably a week afterward that there were investigators and detectives everywhere and then just radio silence — nothing. Like (LeStrange) said, it’d be nice to have something.”
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