RUMFORD — State and Rumford police
appealed to the public Tuesday for help identifying and
finding the young man they say gunned down two Rumford men in their
Pine Street home at about 9:45 p.m. Monday.

Victor Reed Sheldon, 22, and Roger
Leroy Day Jr., 48, were found shot to death in their living room at
244 Pine St., shortly before a 911 call about gunfire in
the house, said Maine State Police Detective Lt. Brian
McDonough.

Although people at the scene Monday
night said the two men were shot in the head, McDonough declined to
reveal the nature of the men’s injuries. He also declined to say how
many bullets were fired, or whether police had recovered the weapon
involved, or its caliber.

By 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, search warrants were
obtained from Rumford District Court to enter the house and vehicles
parked in the yard to gather evidence. A judge ordered the
warrants impounded to shield them from the public, a court official
said.

“We are seeking the public’s help in
locating an individual seen fleeing from the scene immediately
following the shootings,” McDonough said at a 2 p.m. news
conference at Pine Street and Oxford Avenue near the scene of the
killings.

The shooter was described as white, in
his 20s, about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and dark,
shoulder-length hair. He was wearing dark clothing, the
detective said.

“And, he had these — they’ve been
described as either bandages or almost like gloves you’d wear riding
a bicycle, with the fingers free,” on both hands, McDonough said.

“Please keep in mind that he may have
changed his appearance following the incident,” he said.

People with information are asked to call Maine State
Police at 657-3030 or Rumford police at 364-4551.

McDonough said one of the state’s key
witnesses in the case was actually inside the dark-blue, single-story
house at the time of the killings. He declined to identify the witness, other than
to say that the man, who was an associate of the victims, was not
hurt.

“There’s a good chance the assailant
wouldn’t have known the third person was in the residence, because he
was in a different location in the residence; although, he may have
known,” McDonough said.

With a killer at large, McDonough
said, residents should “be smart about yourself and on your guard.”

Day lived at the house, which is owned by Anthony Scott Richards, 34. Richards was
extradited to Helena, Mont., in mid-April to face federal sex
charges. Richards bought the house in
July 2003 for $24,000, according to county records.

Sheldon stayed at the house
frequently with Day, according to state police. Sheldon, who was arrested on July 6 by
Mexico police and charged with domestic violence assault, was
scheduled to be arraigned in Rumford District Court on Tuesday
morning. However, sometime Monday, the charge against him was
dropped.

McDonough declined to say whether
Monday night’s killings were related to domestic violence or
the federal sex crimes case against Richards.

“But, I don’t think we’re ready to
rule anything out at this point,” McDonough said. “It’s really
too soon to tell.” He said police were aware of the FBI
case against Richards, but hadn’t made a connection to it.

“I think we’re bouncing around some
theories that we have some confidence would be applicable — without
going into specifics — but, obviously, we’re looking at all
angles,” he said.

Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter said
at the news conference that his officers had received no recent
complaint about Day or Sheldon.

“This is our first homicide in a
number of years, so it is upsetting to community members,” Carter
said. “This isn’t something that is typical of these communities,
Rumford and Mexico.”

John McCaffrey, 20, of 151½ Oxford
Ave., said Tuesday he was stunned by
the violence. Richards’ house, and another he
owns at 244½ Pine St., are directly behind McCaffrey’s home.

“This isn’t ‘Law and Order,'” McCaffrey said. “This is
Rumford, Maine.”

McCaffrey said he didn’t know Day, but he
knew Sheldon. They went to elementary school together in Rumford. 

“I saw these (victims) recently in
the neighborhood out walking around and they’ve been shot dead now,”
McCaffrey said. “I moved here two winters ago and
it’s usually a quiet neighborhood,” McCaffrey said. “The most you
ever hear is somebody burning their tires on the street. I never
would have expected a gunfight to break out.”

Day and Sheldon “played the most unlikely music
from their house — pop songs by the artist Pink — that you
wouldn’t expect to hear blaring from their house,” McCaffrey said. “They were strange folks, but being
strange doesn’t get you shot. I hope they find the
guy who did this.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

View Rumford double homicide scene in a larger map

A Maine State Police investigator photographs the 244 Pine St. house in Rumford at left on Tuesday afternoon where two men inside the living room were found shot to death late Monday night.

Rumford resident John McCaffrey, 20, of 151-and-a-half Oxford Ave., stands at the intersection of Pine Street and Oxford Avenue on Tuesday afternoon near the small house at left center behind him at 244 Pine St. where two of his neighbors were shot to death late Monday night.

Maine State Police Detective Lt. Brian McDonough, left, and Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter share information about Monday night’s double homicide in Rumford at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon near the home of the killings at 244 Pine St.

Two state police detectives meet with Maine State Police Evidence Response Team leader Herb Leighton, center, on Tuesday morning opposite the scene of Monday night’s double homicide at 244 Pine St. in Rumford.

Standing near the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team mobile crime lab, Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter, center, listens to Maine State Police detectives on Tuesday morning while standing opposite the house at 244 Pine St. where two men were killed late Monday night. Just beyond them, a state police detective escorts a resident through the scene.

State and Rumford police were waiting for warrants Tuesday morning before starting to search this house at 244 Pine St. in Rumford, where two men were killed late Monday night.

State police detectives were getting warrants Tuesday morning to begin searching the small house, center, at 244 Pine St. in Rumford, where two men were killed late Monday night.