Neighbors tired of crime
By Mark LaFlamme

and Dan Hartill
Staff Writers

LEWISTON – A teenager was arrested early Tuesday and charged with stabbing a man during a confrontation late Monday night on Pierce Street.

The 16-year-old from Park Street was charged with attempted murder shortly before dawn after police followed up leads and investigated reports of other fights in the downtown area.

The motive for the attack that left 49-year-old Michael Landry of 148 Pierce St. in critical condition was not known. However, investigators said the teen and Landry knew each other and may have had a long-standing dispute.

Police said Landry was stabbed several times in the chest during the 11:45 p.m. attack. Investigators later found a knife believed to have been used in the stabbing. They arrested the 16-year-old around the same time on Maple Street.

Police did not say where they found the knife.

Landry remained in the intensive care unit at Central Maine Medical Center Tuesday night. His family asked that no details about his condition be released.

Police described Landry’s injuries as life-threatening.

The teen was questioned by police detectives and later moved to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.

Because he is a juvenile, police would not release his name. The teenager is said to have a history of minor offenses.

Police said there may be other arrests in connection with the attack on Landry. Witnesses said between three and five people were with the teenager at the time of the stabbing.

Gang connection

Investigators were exploring the possibility the teenager is associated with a small gang that has maintained a presence in the downtown area for at least three years.

That possibility was bolstered Tuesday by several Pierce Street residents who spoke about bands of young people who gather in the streets in the evening hours.

Shelley McKellick, who lives on Pierce Street near the spot where Landry was stabbed in the street, said she hears shouts and fights almost every night.

“That’s why I’m trying to get out,” McKellick said. “I have two little kids.”

Pierce Street residents reported shortly after the stabbing they had heard shouting in the street just before midnight. When one woman rushed outside, she found Landry lying at the side of the road, not moving and bleeding next to a snowbank.

“It’s worse than Boston,” said Maureen Jean, who moved here from that city a year ago.

In larger cities, crime is all over the place, she said. Here, it’s all concentrated within a few streets.

“Everything is in one place,” Jean said.

Randy Allen, who lives a few doors away from the stabbing scene, said he fears walking the neighborhood at night.

“There are kids who are always walking around,” said Allen, 21.

The street and the neighborhood are known for their troubles, said Cheryl Wardwell, who has lived nearby for 20 years. She worries about drugs and violence.

It was still daylight Tuesday when Wardwell walked past the spot where Landry was found. Were it nighttime, she wouldn’t walk here unless she “absolutely had to.”

Police said they are aware of the number of people who hang out on Pierce and neighboring streets at all hours of the day and night. Deputy Chief Michael Bussiere described it as a “high call for service area.”

“It’s also a very small beat area,” Bussiere said “There is a heavy police presence down there.”

Police and many downtown residents said they are familiar with Landry, who has been arrested numerous times, mostly on misdemeanor charges.

Investigators did not say how Landry and the 16-year-old knew each other. However, those familiar with both of them said Landry was acquainted with the boy’s mother.

Police Tuesday night were continuing to investigate the attack that left Landry wounded. Anyone with information can call Detective Marc Robitaille at 795-9000, ext. 231.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

dhartill@sunjournal.com

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