By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Murder suspect Daniel Roberts was ordered held without bail Thursday during a brief but tense hearing in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

Inside the courtroom, Roberts’ friends sat opposite family members of the woman he is accused of shooting to death in mid-August.

The hearing lasted less than 10 minutes as a judge agreed to keep 35-year-old Roberts jailed without bail pending another hearing scheduled for next week.

Roberts is charged with murder in the Aug. 15 shooting death of 29-year-old Melissa Mendoza at his Sabattus home. He has admitted shooting his estranged girlfriend, but claimed he did so in defense of himself and the couple’s 2-year-old daughter.

Roberts, handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail outfit, genuflected and crossed himself as he entered the courtroom. He stood silently next to his lawyer until he was led away at the end of the hearing.

A member of Mendoza’s family shouted at Roberts and was silenced by other relatives. Security was tight for the brief hearing, with visitors screened with hand-held metal detectors outside the courtroom and extra officers on hand inside.

After the hearing, Roberts’ lawyer and friends repeated their assertions that the shooting of Mendoza was a matter of self-defense. They also decried the police handling of the arrest after Roberts was indicted for murder on Thursday.

He was apprehended by local and state police early Wednesday night after his vehicle was stopped on Sabattus Street.

“It’s just tragic, the whole thing,” said Mike Behr, a close friend of Roberts. “It’s a hard thing right now. It’s very emotional. I’m just here to support him.”

Like Roberts’ lawyer Leonard Sharon, Behr believes police were aiming for drama when they sent several officers to arrest Roberts on Wednesday. Roberts has remained at his Roberts Road home in Sabattus since the morning of the shooting and has never indicated he would leave the area.

“It’s a shame what happened,” Behr said. “But all of it’s going to come out at the trial.”

Roberts has said from the start that he shot Mendoza in the head because she had come to his home with a gun and threatened to kill Roberts and their daughter. Mendoza’s family has emphatically denied that she was violent or that she would ever hurt her family.

Those family members came to Maine from California this week to attend custody hearings over Roberts’ and Mendoza’s 2-year-old-daughter Savanna. The girl has remained in foster care while Roberts and Mendoza’s family argue in court over who should get custody of the child. A hearing on that case is slated for Friday.

“I think he’s most upset that he’ll have to go to the hearing for Savanna in jail garb and shackles,” attorney Sharon said. “But he’s strong and he’s doing fine.”

Roberts is expected back in court Dec. 15 and 16 for a hearing during which the subject of bail will be argued.