FARMINGTON – The Farmington man who allegedly tried to shoot his mother is back in jail on a charge of violating the bail conditions that allowed him to be released just three days before.

Joshua Osborne, 22, stands accused of shooting his mother, 47-year-old Janette Osborne, once in the chest in early July during a spat about the future of the family’s farm.

The new charge brings the total counts against Osborne to four including: felony attempted murder; felony criminal solicitation to commit murder for allegedly offering a cousin money to commit the murder; felony elevated aggravated assault for allegedly causing serious bodily injury to his mother and misdemeanor violation of conditions of release.

Last Wednesday, Osborne posted his $500,000 surety bail, thanks to some help from Gerard Castonguay, who posted land he owned in Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, and agreed as a condition of his release that he would have no contact with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Donna Enman. Osborne was released from the Franklin County jail.

Enman, who is pregnant, has been held on $100,000 cash or $200,000 surety bail since she was indicted last week by the grand jury on charges of attempted murder and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

But last Thursday, jail personnel intercepted a letter to Enman that they suspected Osborne had written and thus by contacting her, had violated his conditions of release.

According to an affidavit signed by Farmington Police Officer Shane Cote, the handwriting on the letter to Enman was “virtually identical” to a previous letter written to her and signed by Osborne.

Osborne has told authorities that it was his grandmother who had actually penned the new letter, which opens with “Hey Babe.”

The letter goes on to say, “I love you” and can’t wait “to talk to you on the phone. I would have killed…” a male friend of Enman’s, “if I wouldn’t have just got out. Any way I just ant shor what side of the fence you are on,” the letter continues. “I know you think all you have is…” the male friend, “but it is not you have me I love you so much.”

The letter contained misspellings.

In closing, the letter’s author writes, “It was good to talk to you on the phone I love you. See you soon.”

According to Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson, the male friend to which authorities believe the letter writer refers to is a friend of Enman’s who she previously lived with.

The letter also encourages Enman to call every day after 8 p.m., something that would be against Osborne’s conditions of release.

After checking phone records from Enman’s cell, Cote and fellow Farmington officer Darin Gilbert, found that 15 calls were made to Osborne’s grandmother’s home in the span of two days, one which lasted 15 minutes.

In the affidavit, Cote writes that Enman admitted to calling the house once to speak with Osborne’s grandmother but denied speaking ever with Osborne.

However, when officers Cote and Gilbert spoke with the grandmother, she told them she had not accepted any collect calls from Enman and had only spoken with her once to warn the girl not to call.

According to the phone records however, four calls had been accepted. In response, the grandmother “…Advised that Josh might have answered the phone,” wrote Cote in the affidavit.

The grandmother also told police that although she could remember, she thought that Osborne had been at her house, located on Horne Hill Road, since he had made bail, but only for a few minutes.

Osborne was then arrested by Sgt. Vern Stevens on Friday.

“We wouldn’t have brought the charges unless we were confident that we could show this letter was written by Osborne,” Robinson said.

He also added that a motion to revoke bail on the initial felony charges has been made.

Osborne will appear at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday at District Court to have bail set on the new charges. At that time, a judge will also set up a bail revocation hearing and review bail for the old charges.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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