LEWISTON — A judge ordered a local man charged with murder in the Sunday shooting of a Massachusetts man to be held without bail.
Mark Sinclair Androscoggin County Jail
Mark John Sinclair, 28, of 12 Howe St. was arrested Sunday and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, from where he appeared by videoconference Wednesday in 8th District Court.
At that hearing, prosecutors told Justice Harold Stewart II they would be seeking a Harnish bail hearing in the case.
Such hearings are held in cases that were, at one time, capital offenses in Maine, such as murder. A judge typically would listen to testimony and be presented with evidence to determine whether there was probable cause to bring the charge and whether the defendant might pose a danger to the community.
Until that hearing takes place, Stewart ordered Sinclair be held without bail.
He assigned Auburn attorney Justin Leary to represent Sinclair until or unless Sinclair seeks different counsel.
Sinclair is charged with intentionally or knowingly causing the death of John Paquin, 20, of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Conviction on a murder charge is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Few details of the shooting have been released by authorities. An affidavit that provides supporting information for the arrest has been impounded by the court, a clerk said Wednesday.
Maine State Police have been investigating the incident along with local officers.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Shannon Moss has said that local police were dispatched shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday to 30 Howe St. for a report of gunshots.
At the scene, officers found Paquin suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, she said.
About 12:20 p.m. Monday, the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy on Paquin and ruled his death a homicide, Moss said.
According to the Maine State Bureau of Identification, Sinclair has a history of criminal convictions in Maine dating back to 2014. Those convictions include terrorizing in 2014 and 2016, both misdemeanors.
Sinclair was convicted of robbery in 2016, unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs in 2017, and aggravated criminal trespass in 2018, all felonies, according to state records.
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