FARMINGTON – A former Wilton man accused of fatally shooting a New Sharon man June 1, 2016, in Wilton is scheduled to select a jury Sept. 8 for a trial scheduled in late September, according to court documents.

Timothy Danforth, 25, now of Farmington, is accused of shooting to death Michael Reis, 24, outside Danforth’s father’s house on Weld Road in Wilton.

Police previously said Reis was part of a group who went to the house and got into a confrontation with the home’s occupants, who included Danforth and his father. After the shooting, Reis was taken to a Farmington hospital by friends and was pronounced dead there.

Danforth pleaded not guilty to intentional or knowing murder Aug. 19, 2016, a day after he was indicted on the charge by a Franklin County grand jury.

Danforth’s attorney Sarah Glynn confirmed the jury selection date by email Thursday. The trial is scheduled to start Sept. 25 and is expected to go through Oct. 4, Glynn wrote.

Co-counsel for the defense is attorney Jeffrey Wilson. Maine Assistant Attorney General Robert “Bud” Ellis is representing the state.

The court has reviewed four impounded affidavits written by Detective Jennifer King of the Maine State Police in support of search warrants, Justice William Stokes wrote in a decision on bail in September 2016.

“While there may be factual disputes at trial as to the precise circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Reis, at this stage of the proceedings the court is satisfied that the state has met the probable cause standard that a formerly capital offense has been committed,” Stokes wrote.

Danforth has said the shooting was self-defense, but Reis was shot three times at close range over a debt owed for marijuana involving Danforth’s father, Robert Danforth, Assistant Attorney General Ellis said during the hearing.

Glynn said then that the incident involved not only Robert Danforth but also a third party who was not present at the Weld Road home.

Timothy Danforth’s involvement centered on protection of his home and his father, she said.

Danforth had three bail hearings last year, the first to set bail, which Stokes set at $150,000 cash and a pre-trial contract, and the second two to amend bail in Franklin County Superior Court. He is currently out of jail on $60,000 worth of real estate and a Maine Pretrial Service contract and reports regularly to a representative of the service.

Maine Pretrial Services is a nonprofit agency providing pretrial bail supervision of defendants who are charged with crimes or probation violations and might otherwise have to wait in jail until trial, according to its website.

A conviction on a charge of murder is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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