Two witnesses described seeing the suspect walk to the car, raise the gun and fire.
By Mark LaFlamme
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – A man who shot two people as they sat in a car at Westminster and Lexington streets Saturday was angry because he’d been spurned by a lady friend and fired from his job, according to a police affidavit.

Police said Michael Heon, 46, aimed a shotgun and fired from about 6 feet away, striking a man and woman inside the car, before fleeing in his pickup truck.

In the driver’s seat, 38-year-old Richard Dehart was struck in the shoulder and neck by the shotgun blast, police said. Next to him, Fernande Thibodeau, 52, was struck in the neck and ear by pellets.

Dehart was able to drive away from the area after the 3:45 p.m. shooting, police said. The couple went to a Big Apple store on Lisbon Street where witnesses called police.

Dehart remained at Central Maine Medical Center Monday where he was listed in good condition. Thibodeau was treated at the hospital and released.

Investigators said Heon and Thibodeau had both worked at White Rock Distilleries, near the shooting scene, and that they were once friends.

However, Heon began demanding more of a personal relationship from her, according to the police affidavit. When Heon began harassing Thibodeau at White Rock, he was fired from that job, investigators said.

Detectives said Dehart and Thibodeau are involved in a relationship and that they live together. Dehart told police Heon had frequently driven by the couple’s home, leaving threatening notes there.

On Saturday, Dehart and Thibodeau were driving from the University of Southern Maine on Westminster Street when they spotted Heon driving in the area.

“Dehart stopped his car to tell Heon to stop harassing them. Heon then exited his truck and walked toward Dehart’s car,” Lewiston police Detective Brian O’Malley wrote in the court document.

“Heon stated, ‘I’ve got a gun!’ Heon was about 6 feet away when he raised a shotgun and pointed it at Dehart and Thibodeau. Heon then fired a single shot into the car, striking Dehart and Thibodeau.”

While the couple was being treated for their wounds, police were searching for their suspect. Detectives spoke with a couple who witnessed the shooting while they were driving on Lexington Street.

That pair described watching the suspect walk to the car, raise the gun and fire. The couple told police they saw at least one of the victims struck by a shot.

They also told police the shooter reloaded the shotgun after firing at the car. One of the witnesses later picked Heron out of a photo line up.

At about 4:15 p.m., off-duty Auburn police Officer Donald Gosselin spotted Heon’s truck at Russell and College streets. He contacted Lewiston police as Heon drove a short distance to his home at 1 Davis St., police said.

Police officers Brian Rose and Justin Kittredge, who were on the way to the home at the time, arrested Heon in his yard after he stepped out of his pickup truck.

There was no sign of the shotgun.

Investigators who searched Dehart’s car said they found two lead pellets in the vehicle, one of them entangled in the hair of one of the victims.

Heon was charged with two counts of attempted murder. He remained at the Androscoggin County Jail Monday night after making an initial court appearance in 8th District Court.

Police are asking for help from the public in locating the shotgun used in the shooting. Specifically, they are trying to determine where Heon went after the couple was shot at Westminster and Lexington.

Investigators say Heon was driving a burnt orange 1998 Ford Ranger with a green cap when he allegedly shot Dehart and Thibodeau. Police are hoping to hear from anyone who might have seen the truck between 3:45 and 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective O’Malley at 784-6422 ext. 230.

Heon, who works in traffic control for a local security agency, was being held Monday night on $100,000 bail.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

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