Authorities have brought back to Maine the New York man accused of murder for a March shooting in Palmyra.
Kareem Quattlebaum was extradited earlier this month, according to Danna Hayes, a spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which prosecutes all homicides in the state. Records show Quattlebaum was booked at the Somerset County Jail in Madison the morning of Dec. 23.
Quattlebaum, 38, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with murder in connection with the death of Jaquan Humphries, 28, of the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the Maine State Police said previously.
The Maine State Police announced in October that agents with the FBI had arrested Quattlebaum in the Bronx.
He was held in custody in New York City. Court records available online show that Quattlebaum made several court appearances in New York since the arrest.
Hayes said via email Dec. 18 that Quattlebaum was no longer contesting extradition, although at the time, she did not know when authorities would have him returned to Maine.
Quattlebaum then appeared in court in Somerset County Dec. 23, according to Hayes and court records.
Quattlebaum pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, his court-appointed attorney James Howaniec said via email Monday.
Howaniec, whose law office is in Lewiston, said he is brand new to the case and has only reviewed an affidavit filed in support of Quattlebaum’s arrest.
State police said previously that Humphries was shot and killed March 12 at a home at 531 Madawaska Road in Palmyra.
Around 1:30 a.m. that morning, a 911 call reported a shooting at the house, and Somerset County sheriff’s deputies found Humphries dead inside. Humphries was believed to be living at the home, police said.
About six months prior to the killing, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office executed multiple drug search warrants at the home and made several arrests, although it is unclear if there is any connection to the alleged murder.
The state police Major Crimes Unit — Central investigated Humphries’ death, and said when Quattlebaum was arrested the FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Maine and the FBI New York field office assisted the investigation.
Officials have otherwise shared little information about the case. The entire court file in Quattlebaum’s case in Skowhegan was impounded as of Monday, meaning none of the documents were available for the public to view.
The file is to remain sealed until a status conference set for Jan. 26, a court clerk said.
A Palmyra woman was also charged apparently in connection with Humphries’ death, although the attorney general’s office, which said the cases were connected, has not specified how.
That woman, Jacqueline McClure, 33, was charged in June with one Class C count of conspiracy to commit robbery March 12 in Palmyra.
Former District Court Judge Andrew Benson, now Maine’s U.S. attorney, set bail at $50,000 cash. A grand jury indicted McClure in August and she initially pleaded not guilty.
In October, McClure’s case was moved from Somerset County to Penobscot County, where she had other pending charges, court records show.
McClure changed her plea to guilty before District Court Judge Meghan Szylvian Nov. 4, court records show, and a sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 27 in Bangor.
Two weeks after pleading guilty, McClure was released from jail on personal recognizance to be admitted to a treatment program in Augusta, court records show.
A police affidavit detailing probable cause for the arrest warrant for McClure remained unavailable to view as of Monday.
