AUBURN — A local woman charged with attempted murder in the October shooting of a woman in New Auburn denied that and a dozen related charges Friday.
Kachina Swasey appears in Androscoggin Counry Superior Court on Friday where she pleads not guilty to a charge of attempted murder. Christopher Williams/Sun Journal
Kachina Swasey, 25, was indicted in April by an Androscoggin County grand jury on 13 charges.
Charges of attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault each carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Two charges of aggravated assault are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
She faces up to five years in prison on each of four felonies, including reckless conduct with a firearm and three counts of assault of an officer.
The remaining charges include two counts of assault and three counts of violation of condition of release, all misdemeanors.
Swasey is being held at Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $10,000 cash plus a supervised release agreement.
Her attorney, James Howaniec, said Friday he had discussed with Swasey the possibility of entering a a plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity, but decided to review a forensic psychologist’s report before possibly returning to court to have her change her plea.
Police said that on Oct. 4, shortly after 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a reported shooting behind Roopers Beverage on Main Street.
There, officers found a 38-year-old woman who’d been shot in the face with a .22-caliber handgun before several witnesses who had detained the alleged shooter.
The victim, was conscious and alert, identified Swasey as her assailant, police said.
Witnesses said the shooting came after a brief “physical altercation” between the two women.
After officers arrested Swasey, she spat in the face of one of them, then was combative during booking at the jail, police said.
Swasey had been taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston to be “medically cleared for incarceration,” where she kicked an officer in the chest, police said.
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