PORTLAND — A South Paris man is expected to plead guilty this month to being a felon with a firearm.

Andrew Bean, 51, pleaded not guilty this week. He was transferred from state detention into federal custody at Cumberland County Jail in Portland on a motion by prosecutors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley sought the change, arguing that Bean posed a safety risk to the community and was a flight risk.

His change of plea hearing is scheduled for April 26 in U.S. District Court.

Bean’s brother, Stephen, 55, of Norway and David Foster, 39, of South Paris pleaded not guilty to the same gun charges at their arraignments Thursday.

They were released on conditions, including notification to the court of any change of address or phone, pending their trials.

The three Oxford County hunters were indicted last month by a federal grand jury on charges of being felons with firearms.

The three were charged earlier in state court with fraudulently obtaining hunting licenses and being prohibited persons with firearms.

The state and federal charges stem from an incident in November 2015 when the men were charged by the Maine Warden Service on a property adjacent to a Paris farm, where the brother of two of the men charged Wednesday shot and killed 18-year-old Megan Ripley in an unrelated hunting incident in 2006.

Andrew Bean and Foster each face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, followed by a maximum of three years of supervised release on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Stephen Bean was indicted on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 maximum fine.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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