BELFAST, Maine — With his wounded left arm in a sling and showing a blackened left eye, the Searsport man who was shot by a state trooper attempting to arrest him for allegedly shooting a friend, stood silent when he appeared in court Friday on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Matthew Sylvester, 24, of Searsport, is accused of the Thursday morning shooting of Richard Brown, 41, of Frankfort, during an argument in North Searsport. Brown was shot three times with a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun and is being cared for at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Waldo County Deputy District Attorney Eric Walker said Brown was in a medically induced coma and was scheduled to be revived Sunday.
Walker said alcohol was a factor in the shooting and described Sylvester and Brown as having “shared some relationship or friendship the night it occurred.”
Sylvester made his initial court appearance before Judge Joseph Field in Belfast District Court on Friday. Judge Field set Sylvester’s bail at $250,000 cash or $500,000 real estate surety as requested by Walker. In the event Sylvester makes bail he will be required to report to the local police daily, possess no drugs, alcohol or firearms, and adhere to a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Walker cited the seriousness of the crimes and Sylvester’s criminal record, including a 2006 charge of drug dealing and possession of a concealed .45-caliber handgun as reasons for the amount of bail requested.
Although Sylvester’s court-appointed attorney, Aaron Fethke, of Searsport, argued that the bail was too high for his family to raise, Judge Field dismissed his request for a lesser amount by noting, “Under the circumstances of the case I think the district attorney’s request is quite moderate.”
According to Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland, Sylvester and Brown got into an argument while riding around with friends at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
The car stopped at the intersection of Mount Ephraim and North Searsport roads and the two men carried their fight outside. At some point while the two men were in the roadway, Sylvester pulled his gun and shot Brown three times. Brown had a knife but it was unclear whether he brandished it during the fight, McCausland said. It was also uncertain where or how Sylvester got his black eye, Walker said.
After the shooting Sylvester was driven to a home he shares with his father on Porter Street in Searsport. He was shot in the arm by state Trooper Cory Smith as Smith attempted to apprehend him. Smith has been placed on paid administrative leave until the Attorney General’s Office completes its investigation into the shooting, as state policy calls for when a law officer is involved in a shooting.
McCausland said Friday that Smith was doing fine and that state police head Col. Patrick J. Fleming will decide when Smith returns to duty after completing his review of the case.
When asked about whether the driver of the car or others who may have been involved in the case could face charges, McCausland declined to comment.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” he said. “We have charged the person we believe is responsible for the shooting.”
The affidavit filed with the case could have shed more light on what happened that morning but Judge Field approved District Attorney Walker’s motion to impound the document until the investigation was complete.
“It’s only been 24 hours since this happened,” Walker said of his reasons for sealing the affidavit. “We’re not done with the investigation, and I just don’t want people to see and read in the media other people’s accounts of what they saw. I don’t want any cross-contamination of witnesses.”
In arguing for lower bail, Fethke said Sylvester had strong ties to the Searsport community, was member of a multigenerational local family and did not pose a threat of flight. He also said that it would be more difficult to prepare a defense with Sylvester being held more than an hour away in Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. The Waldo County Jail was closed earlier this year as part of the state’s jail consolidation plan.
Sylvester remained incarcerated Friday night unable to make bail, according to an official at Two Bridges Regional Jail.
Speaking outside the court earlier Friday, Fethke said Sylvester had responded to “force” and described Brown as “a violent man.” When asked how his client was doing Fethke replied that Sylvester was “holding up OK. He’s a good kid, a young, strong guy, and he’ll get through it.”