AUBURN – An Androscoggin County grand jury rose Wednesday without taking action against Daniel Roberts, the Sabattus man who shot and killed his former girlfriend last month.
That doesn’t mean the matter is over, though. Grand jurors serve for a year. The state could put evidence before them when they sit again later this month, or in months to come.
Roberts, 35, maintains that Melissa Mendoza arrived at his Roberts Road home shortly before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 15 carrying a gun that she had stolen from his house earlier.
He has said that Mendoza threatened to kill him and their daughter, Savanna, 2, and that he shot Mendoza in self-defense.
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese was expected to present evidence to the grand jury Wednesday.
Before that happened, though, Superior Court Justice Thomas E. Delahanty II agreed to question grand jurors about their possible exposure to news stories detailing the shooting as well as any biases they might have against Roberts, a Hells Angels member.
The questioning was sought by Roberts’ lawyer, Leonard Sharon. He said he wanted to make certain that Roberts got a fair grand jury to weigh the state’s case.
Because grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret, no one could comment on whether the judge’s questions turned up any problems.
Sharon also wanted to be allowed to put evidence before grand jurors, but Delahanty rejected that motion.
When they rose, they reported out 105 indictments against 51 people.
There were no “no bills,” or findings of insufficient evidence to support charges, reported out by grand jurors.
Neither Marchese nor Sharon could be reached for comment Thursday.
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