LEWISTON – A Sabattus man accused of murder could get a glimpse at the state’s case against him today. A judge will weigh evidence at a hearing to determine whether he’s entitled to be released on bail.
Daniel Roberts, 35, is charged with killing his former girlfriend, Melissa Mendoza.
Roberts was arrested on the murder charge last week. Mendoza. 29, died of a single bullet wound to the back of her head on Aug. 15 at Roberts’ home in Sabattus.
Roberts has maintained from the start that the shooting was in self-defense, and in defense of the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Savanna. He and Mendoza were locked in a bitter custody dispute over the girl.
Roberts’ lawyer, Leonard Sharon, has said Mendoza arrived at his client’s secluded Sabattus home after midnight carrying a handgun that she took from Roberts’ house.
Sharon has said that Mendoza threatened to shoot both Savanna and Roberts if she couldn’t have the child. Sharon said Roberts told him that he shot her as she turned to go into the house where the child was sleeping.
Sharon called the case one of justifiable homicide, an example of someone defending himself and the life of a third person.
Mendoza’s family is seeking custody of Savanna.
A hearing on their request was conducted last week, but the family says it can’t comment on the status of the custody action.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.