MILBRIDGE, Maine — Two local men have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting early Thursday that apparently grazed a man in his Main Street home, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Sherman L. Merchant, 25, and Benjamin T. Ray, 28, remained Friday night in the Washington County Jail in Machias on charges of aggravated reckless conduct with a firearm.
Bail is set at $25,000 cash for each defendant, according to a press release sent out Friday by the sheriff’s office. The two are scheduled to appear Monday in Washington County Superior Court, when bail could be changed.
If convicted of the Class B crime, they face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
Deputies were called to 120 Main St. about 1:50 a.m. Thursday after a report that shots had been fired. The shots, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office, were fired from the road in front of the residence and passed through an exterior wall. One of the small-caliber bullets passed through the wall and into a bedroom where it struck the man, the release said.
“[He] was not significantly hurt due to the round losing a significant amount of velocity,” according to the sheriff’s office. “No medical treatment was needed.”
A 17-year-old male, who police said was with Merchant and Ray when the shots were fired, also was questioned in connection with the incident. He was released to his parents but so far has not been charged, Lt. Travis Willey said Friday night.
The names of the juvenile and the person who fired the shots have not been released.
The Bangor Daily News typically does not identify crime victims and witnesses.
The incident allegedly stemmed from a minor automobile accident in Milbridge on Wednesday that involved the victim and Merchant and his girlfriend, Willey said. Further information about the accident was not available Friday night.
When deputies went to interview Merchant, who lives with his girlfriend’s family, they made two more arrests on unrelated charges.
Victor Stanwood and Donna Stanwood, both 48, were charged with illegal possession of drugs, according to the sheriff’s office. The couple allegedly had hydrocodone but did not have a prescription for the narcotic pain reliever.
Donna Stanwood is the mother of Merchant’s girlfriend, and Merchant had been living with the Stanwoods, according to Willey.
Donna Stanwood was released on bail. Victor Stanwood is being held on a charge of violating conditions of bail in a pending charge of operating while under the influence of intoxicants in Hancock County, Willey said.