LEWISTON — The attorney for a local man alleged to have been in a Wednesday shootout with police said Friday he’s concerned about his client’s competency.
Joshua R. Boyd Lewiston Police Department
Joshua R. Boyd, 27, of 41 Jefferson Street is charged with five felonies, including aggravated attempted murder, after he reportedly fired a gun at a local police officer who had responded to a threatening complaint on Howe Street early Wednesday morning.
Boyd appeared on Friday by videoconference in 8th District Court from Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn for the first time on the charges stemming from Wednesday’s incident.
His attorney, James Howaniec, said he met with his client for about an hour before the hearing.
“He appears very confused,” Howaniec told the judge.
“He was barely able to tell me his name. He does not know his mother’s name. He does not know his age,” Howaniec said. “He does not know anything about what’s happened in the last 15 days.”
Howaniec said he’s uncertain how well Boyd understands the numerous felony charges he’s facing. He has only a “rudimentary understanding” of what’s going on with his criminal case, Howaniec said. He said Boyd believes he’s been collecting Social Security and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Howaniec said he’ll want to have Boyd examined by a forensic psychologist to help determine his state of mind at the time of the alleged shooting as well as his competency to stand trial.
Boyd’s criminal history includes time served at the Maine State Prison and he has been convicted of crimes in Massachusetts, Howaniec said.
“There is evidence of a substantial drug history that may have something to do with it, combined with his apparent mental disabilities,” Howaniec said.
While he doesn’t plan to challenge probable cause for most of the charges brought in a complaint against Boyd, Howaniec said he sees problems with the charge of aggravated attempted murder, calling the probable cause for that charge “very tenuous.”
Assistant District Attorney Neil McLean said Boyd has two convictions for assaulting an officer and a conviction for aggravated assault in Maine since 2014.
According to a police affidavit, Boyd had entered a Howe Street apartment early Wednesday carrying a gun. The apartment’s resident called police, who responded to the address and chased Boyd to Sabattus Street.
Cpl. Jeremy Somma noticed that the male had his hand in his pocket, then Somma saw a muzzle flash at least twice coming from the male and heard gunshots,” according to the affidavit.
Somma “said he had no doubt that it was the male firing at him and Cpl. Somma felt in fear of being shot and killed,” the affidavit said.
Somma said he couldn’t remember how many times he fired back at the suspect, but “knows it was more than once and he did not empty his magazine.”
After he was taken into custody leaving his girlfriend’s apartment on Horton Street, Boyd told police he had a gun in his pocket as he fled the Howe Street address because he saw an officer.
He said he wanted to “throw it,” but accidentally fired the gun in his pants as he tried to pull it from his pocket while running.
“He then took the gun out of his pants and it fired again,” he told police, according to the affidavit.
Judge Jennifer Archer set Boyd’s bail at $100,000 cash with conditions not to have contact with witnesses in the case.
Lee Davis Lewiston Police Department
Also appearing in court Friday was Lee Davis, 35, of 88 Bartlett St., who police said hid the gun used by Boyd after the shooting.
In a separate affidavit, police wrote that Boyd and a woman went to Davis’ apartment after Boyd fled from police, where he changed his clothes and left his gun.
After denying several times that Boyd had left anything in Davis’ apartment and police searches, he told police only after his arrest about a hidden compartment in a dresser drawer where police found a silver pistol.
He also had told police that Boyd had thrown a bag containing his clothing in a dumpster across the street, but a surveillance camera showed it was Davis who had disposed of the bag.
He faces a charge of Class B hindering apprehension or prosecution, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a Class C felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Judge Archer set Davis’ bail at $2,500 cash, but prosecutors said they plan to seek revocation of bail for two pending cases. McLean also said Davis has a “significant” criminal history, including multiple convictions for theft and criminal mischief.
Richard Charest, who represented Davis for Friday’s initial appearance, said Davis “does want the court to know that he’s innocent, that’s he’s got nothing to do with the original charge and that he has no reason to cover up anything.”
Charest said Davis had “no idea about the firearm and certainly it wasn’t his firearm in any event.”
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