CUSHING, Maine — Andrew Kierstead told police he fired a shotgun repeatedly at his friend Richard Mills because the victim had hooked him on drugs, had been supplying him for 10 or 15 years, but then shut him off Thursday for not paying.
Kierstead, 40, of Tenants Harbor was arrested Thursday evening and charged with murder in connection with Mills’ death outside Mills’ home at 40 Far Meadow Lane in Cushing.
An affidavit containing details of what police say happened was filed Monday morning in Rockland District Court by Maine State Police Sgt. Jason Richards of the Major Crimes Unit.
Kierstead appeared in Rockland District Court on Monday afternoon where he was ordered by Judge Susan Sparaco to be held without bail. A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 9 to determine whether there is probable cause to continue holding him without bail.
Attorney Steven Peterson of Rockport represented Kierstead at the hearing. Outside the courthouse afterward, Peterson said that when he first visited Kierstead at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport on Saturday, his client was not in a good state of mind. The attorney said Kierstead’s medical condition appeared to better Monday.
Peterson said his client’s state of mind at the time of the shooting will be critical for the defense.
The suspect did not speak during the hearing, which lasted for less than five minutes.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Fernald represented the Maine attorney general’s office during the initial appearance hearing.
Kierstead told police that after he shot Mills, he took pills with the intent to overdose, according to the affidavit.
“He later woke up and hoped it was a dream. He went outside and saw Mills and then called 911,” according to the affidavit.
Kierstead said he does not know when the shooting occurred. He called the Knox County Regional Communications Center about 8 p.m. Thursday from Mills’ home.
The Tenants Harbor man said he was an unemployed carpenter and had no money, according to the affidavit. He said Mills had supplied him with drugs after getting him hooked 10 or 15 years ago. Mills recently had fronted him $250 worth of pills but then on Thursday refused to give him more drugs until Kierstead paid off the debt.
“They argued and Kierstead got Mills to go outside and help him with a noise under the hood. When Mills was looking under the hood, Kierstead got a 12-gauge shotgun from the front seat and pointed it at Mills,” the affidavit from Richards stated.
Kierstead told police that he keeps the shotgun loaded and had been sleeping with it.
“Mills told him to put it away before someone got hurt. [Kierstead] then told them [officers] that he fired the shotgun at Mills. He pumped another round in and kept firing. He said he did not know how many shots he fired,” the affidavit stated.
Investigators said they found five 12-gauge casings near the truck. One gunshot hole was found in the truck.
Inside the residence, officers found a suicide note believed to have been written by Kierstead that explained why he shot Mills. The shotgun was found and so was one empty methadone pill bottle, one empty hydrocodone bottle, one hydrocodone bottle containing four tablets and one hydrocodone bottle containing 27 tablets.
The autopsy performed Friday by the Maine medical examiner’s office found four wounds to Mills’ front with 12-gauge slugs and one birdshot wound to his right buttock.
In a 911 call reviewed by state police, Kierstead allegedly told the dispatcher that he killed Mills over “f…ing drugs and sh..” He went on to say that Mills had “just totally f…ed up his life.”
Kierstead told state police Detectives Dean Jackson and Jason Andrews that he had been hooked on Percocet, Vicodin, methadone and other pills, according to the affidavit.
Lt. Kirk Guerrette and Detective Lt. Reggie Walker of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office were the first to arrive at the scene after Kierstead’s 911 call.
Kierstead has no recent criminal record. The only recent arrest in court records was November 2011 for failure to appear for a contempt hearing from small claims court over a $112 bill to Montgomery Oil. He later was fined in Rockland District Court for the failure to appear.
Proof once again that guns and drugs don’t ruin society, unhinged nutcases do.
he got you hooked then stopped giving you drugs?
oh, in that case it’s okay…
smdh
Wow! My condolences to the Richard Mills Family and also the Family of Andrew Kierstead.
It’s sad but true, You will reap, what you sow.
drugs are bad, mmkay?
Sorry, but I don’t believe anybody is responsable for getting somebody hooked on drugs except the person taking the drugs. Not like the pills were forced down his throat or he was tied up and given an IV against his will.
Sad story all the way around, but given the circumstances given in the article, not surprising.
I guess this would not be a case where the methedone proponents would parade out as a success story about how good it works? Empty methedone bottle =empty shotgun. I am not sure why methedone clinics get funded by govenment, and total abstinence clinics get no/miniscule funding. Both sides loose big time on this one.
Methadone? say it isn’t so! (sarcasm off)
hey i know you.
So?
Clinic is just a swap meet for every kind of drug user. They trade whatever you want there. I would request, in order to continue the clinic in Maine, all patients be molested… err I mean searched TSA style and maybe something might change. There is a thought. TSA at methedone clincs. Bangor PD, you are wrong if you do not recon that cesspool.
Sounds good trooper (I was in the old Airborne on a LRP team with the 82nd, and I assume you were Airborne as well by your moniker), All the way my brother!
The real deal is that any facility that recieves federal funding is protected under the Federal Condidentiality Rules that are very strict, and the punishment is quite severe for transgressing them. Cops could set up outside the clinic off their property, but to enter soley for the purpose of “recon”as you say will cause them great difficulty. I don’t make the rules, so don’t “shoot” the messenger! I am very familiar with them however.These laws come under what is known as 42 CFR and state in part pertaining to criminal investigationof a patient involed with substance abuse treatment (I use the term lightly in relation to a methedone clinic) the idea is that individuals would not seek help if everyone was privy to their record, they are as follows (not a complete compilation of the law in its entirety by any means):
Procedures in Criminal Investigations
Where an investigative, law enforcement, or prosecutorial agency seeks an order authorizing a disclosure for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting a patient, it must demonstrate the following:
The crime involved is extremely serious, that is, one that causes or threatens to cause death or serious injury The records sought are likely to contain information of significance to the investigation or prosecution There is no other practical way to obtain the information The public interest in disclosure outweighs any actual or potential harm to the patient, the doctor-patient relationship, or the ability of the program to provide services to other patients The program has had an opportunity to be represented by independent counsel (When the program is a governmental entity, it must be represented by counsel.)Where the order is sought to prosecute a patient, the court must follow the same procedures that apply to court-ordered disclosures generally (except that the patient need not be given notice). In addition, a court order authorizing a disclosure for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting a patient must limit the disclosure to those parts of the patient’s record that are essential to the purpose of the order. Further, only those law enforcement and prosecutorial officials responsible for conducting the investigation or prosecution may have access to the information. As with other applications, the court may not order the disclosure of “confidential communications” except in narrowly defined circumstances, Under no circumstances may a court authorize a program to turn over a patient’s entire record to a law enforcement, investigative, or prose-cutorial agency.
OMG Jim Morrison really is still alive!!!
Um,”was still alive”…
Ryan Reynolds ….he has been out of work.
Sad but… Coming soon to a Pharmacy near you.
Drug user kills “friend” over drugs. Three drug using “friends” fried
in a car by another drug using “friend.” Dealer(s) ratted out by drug
using “friend.” Etc. The list goes on & on. Druggies do not have “friends.”
They simply know other drug using acquaintances. Ultimate dead end society.
I had written those words yesterday in reference to something else just yesterday..addicts have no friends..unless you have money, or something to offer..other than that dealers/enablers will turn their back on you in a heartbeat..and leave the people that do care about you (the addict) to deal with the pain..and Maine has a huge problem..I believe some agaencies are trying, but there are some that are just watching it happen.
As long as your state CONDONES using drugs, such as supplying them with numerous methadone clinics and giving them state aid for their habits, then you will ALWAYS have this problem and it will only continue to get worse. People up here close their eyes to what is going on. Listening to people in general out in public it is the *norm* that everyone takes some form of medication/drugs and in and out of jail. It’s disgusting! For such a tiny population to be acting this way is unacceptable! To REWARD people for this behavior is even worse! People need to also stop giving these people excuses for their childish behavior…there is NO REASON for it! Instead of having sympathy, they need TOUGH LOVE and harsher sentences. Another problem you have in this state is that Maine basically is saying it’s OK to drink and drive, as every gas station and convenience store (along with every grocery store) sells hard liquor. This is NOT the norm and totally unacceptable! No wonder this state is full of druggies and boozers! Stop in a gas station and pick up a bottle of vodka and take off?! Then you have underage kids SELLING booze at the grocery stores. Mommy and Daddy all booze it up and pop a pill, so then you have the kids doing the same. Talk about horrible examples! I’ve never SEEN a place run so pathetically!
Then leave.
“Another problem you have in this state…” -mich08
After reading this comment and your other posts, I have to ask ,you’re not from around here, are you? If you hate Maine so much, why stay?
That is exactly the way it is. Drug users don’t have friends just accociates, it’s a very symbiotic relationship that often turns parasitic
it is sad he got hooked it is sad he had to support his habit and the worst part is they guy may have been doing him a favor shutting him off but it is the withdrawal
An unemployed carpenter for the last 10-15 years, but you can never find one if you try to hire one. Andy thats quite a tale/excuse for being a drug addict.
It’s a risky line of business to be in.
This is just the beginning of crime being reported with methadone in the story. The methadone clinics are giving away free drugs for the junkies and the junkies clientele list. Folks, we have to develop a plan to get rid of these clinics before more people die.
These clinics are taking the money that should be spent on long term drug rehab facilities. Some in the clinics brag about using while on methadone so the clinic will increase their dose. Sadly I know of a young man who started using pills so he could go to the clinic and get free drugs instead of buying pot……makes no sense at all. While trying to find a 30 day program for a family member we found 2 in Maine. One of them had a 6-8 week waiting period and the other WOULD ONLY TAKE MAINECARE OR CASH!!!! They would not take private insurance. The mother put the child on a plane to Florida and the Florida facility took Dirigo insurance to cover the 30 days. Something is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. We are just pouring more and more money back to the pharmaceutical companies. Maine needs to change how we treat drug problems or it will only get worse.
Once again my friend, you are right on the money, however the city council and politicians will never get rid of these so long as they keep making tons of money off of them.
This man is sly. He is simply trying to get Manslaughter, instead of murder.
sly maybe..addict..yes..and a real good addict knows how to play the game with Dr’s to get what they need..seen it over and over..addict had a bad headache..oxy’s..ohh bad cramps…oxy’s any little boo boo..oxys.. some Dr’s just as guilty as the addicts
Oh well there, that’s a good excuse for shooting someone. That should go in the books as Justifiable Homicide…NOT. No one shoves this stuff down people’s throats. It’s a conscious decision to take them…just like NOT taking them is a conscious decision.
guns and drugs ruin society
The humble Farmer
Avarice ruins society.
My heart simply stopped when i read this article. Richard is my Uncle, and to hear what happened that night, it’s so horrible to read. I’ll always remember you at your best uncle, love from your niece <3
My condolences, marinebliologist13. I knew Richard from where I work. Had some great conversations with him. I’m sorry for your and your family’s loss.
My heart simply stopped when I read this. Richard is my uncle, and to hear what happened that night is simply heart breaking. I will always remember you at your best Uncle Richard. Love from your niece <3
Sorry your loving and caring uncle took advatange of other people’s weakness… He of all people should have known what happens when you cut off someone from their pills.
There’s no point in hating him in death. Hasn’t he been punished enough?
Whether we like it or not, both men have a family that loved them and knew another side to that person. I, myself, know that one of them came from a great family. Regardless of what they chose to do with their lives, they still left a family behind that loved them and their lives have now forever changed and hopefully they will find a way to get through this.
In regards to the pills, these types of medications that were listed are NOT something that makes someone go off the deep end and pull the trigger. I tend to feel it’s more than the pills that made him choose to act out this way, of which was HIS choosing…something that he will have to live with now, unfortunately. If it were something like Meth, Bath Salts or Cocaine, Heroine, etc. then I would say that person would not be in the right frame of mind. If it weren’t for this person supplying his habit, it could have been the local pharmacy, etc…which is why so many pharmacies all across the country are also dealing with this problem, as well as these so-called *pain clinics*. If someone wants something bad enough it won’t matter WHERE that person is getting it from…especially when they don’t have the means to get it.
I think that if the accused lured the victim outside, he had already premeditated murder. That is not manslaughter if there was a plan, which indicates intent to me. He may have been going through withdrawal, but he knew what he was doing. The drug addiction may explain his behavior, but it surely does not excuse it.
These forms of medication do NOT cause someone to KILL someone to get more medication and make someone fire a shotgun into them numerous times…now if it were Meth, Bath Salts or Cocaine…maybe.
For you POT addicts and other drug addicts, i wonder how many of you remember, how you got addicted after ‘some friend of yours’ got you to try POT for the first time and the drug brainwashed you into thinking POT was harmless.
This story has nothing to do with POT.
Wait til Andrew Kierstead is on trial and he says POT was his first drug.
ya then he will blame more people around him. Whats that saying… point a finger at someone else and there is 4 pointed back at you
Actually, I knew Andy many years ago and the hardest thing he’d put into his body was Budweiser. He loved his Bud and would turn his nose up to pot or anything else he would be offered.
It’s sad to see where he is today. It is very hard for me to imagine this is the same Andy I knew all those years ago. Addiction is a hard and terrible thing. I hope Andy gets the help he needs and deserves to free himself from this Hell he’s found himself living in.
I suspect he first got his kicks on caffeine sugar, soda, cigarettes and alcohol. Heck, he was hooked on milk first.
POT
That is much more fun to type in big letters.
POT
POT POT POT
haha
POT
‘marijuana’ is too mellifluous sounding for a drug that is so harmful and addictive. POT like pot belly pig, POT belly, pol pot massacre. POT, is more appropriate sounding
Except that its not nearly as harmful and addictive as a few legal vices that the government is MORE than happy to receive your money for (taxes).
I just think the constant capitalization of the word was fun. :)
POT
Notice the US started having the other countries call it marijuana, when it use to be cannabis. We should rename methedone…. something scary…how about demacrotodone?
Demacrotodone copyrighted 2012 by me
it’s not right making light of the POT problem, wait til you try POT and you get hooked on POT the you won’t be laughing. the next thing ya know you’ll be hustling for POT money. Then you’ll blimp out from the munchies. They’ll see you on 201 and yell hey P-P-P-P-P-P-Porky POT!
hooked on pot… lol . those who cry they got hooked on pot, are babys and would get hooked on dog food if they thought it was cool. They are the people who use the whole roll of TP in one bowel movement, because they cant control themselves. It is a lack of parenting in this state and country that has gotten us so far down the old sewage line. It will take 200 years to fix by clinics or 18 years of good loving and caring but stern parenting.
I TOTALLY agree with you, AirborneDaddyOneWayTrip!! Well said!
Cannabis is not a gateway drug, that is a total misconception and highly untrue.
“Cannabis is not a gateway drug, that is a total misconception and highly untrue”
–That is highly untrue. Virtually every recovering drug addict says POT was the first drug they tried.
I’ll bet it was really alcohol.
I bet skowheganresident is tired of asking “virtually” every drug addict for their life story. Maybe he even had to dig up 5,000 year old bodies to ask them also.
*sighs* I know. Must be exhausting to have all that “knowledge” stored.
or soda
or nicotine.
The idea that marijuana is a gateway drug has been proven false again and again. Of course it is usually the first drug someone tries…it is the most accessible, especially for teen-agers, when drug use typically starts. If it was the gateway drug you claim it is, we would have many more drug addicts then we do.
What, we don’t have enough??
What do you think the ratio is illegalsout? ( i love the name btw) 1/50 maybe 1/30 or could it be that 1/20 people living in Maine between the ages of 18 and 55 are drug addicts?
This data must be available, just not to you and me, you know, HIPPA.
Any guesses?
If you count tobacco and marijuana and alcohol (but if you use them you will dismiss this figure out of hand) according to who’s research you believe. 1/3rd of the US population is addicted in one form or another. I could find no recent figures for Maine. And Bushfan, look up NIDA
http://www.drugabuse.gov/
Tons of data on drug abuse there, not just snappy random thoughts someone sitting in a trailer park spouts off over a joint and morning coffee whilst reading the BDN online waiting for their welfare check, these are scientifically reviewed studies that are factual in nature. I look at it like this, sit and complain, or arm yourself with knowledge and do something about it. I hope this helps.
For clarification, I was not referring to you Bushfan, I was referring to people who make off the cuff statements. I find your posts insightful and informative, and you do not sign in as a “guest” to slash and burn. I provided the link to the site because you seem to have an interest. HIPPA would not preclude the information from being gathered for reporting purposes, it would however not allow the participants names in the study to be released without a signed release specifically worded to allow such a release.
FAR too many in this little nothing of a state where only about a million subside. I have never seen so many people on drugs as I have in this state with such a LOW population and no stresses really AT all. So many that choose to do this and booze it up than actually have something called a *JOB*!
As is tobacco. People who say that they aren’t should try educating themselves before making ludicris statements that make their level of education(or lack thereof) on the matter apparent for others. I would not make broad sweeping invalid statements about physics because I know nothing about the subject. If I were inclined to comment on that subject, I would at least read up on the topic before making pronouncements that make little sense when held to the light of scientific research. I do not base my comment on what recovering addicts say (although I agree with Skowheganresidents assessment and have heard thousands of them to attest to as much over the last 30 or so years) because that is ancedotal information. Try looking up something called a “scholarly article”, you could get a dictionary to look up the big words that you don’t understand and try reading them sometime before you demonstrate your lack of knowledge on a subject, or better yet spare yourself the embarressment .
*Applauds*
Sorry–they first tried soda, coffee, energy drinks. cigarettes and alcohol THEN they tried pot.
Almost every single hardcore teen junkie who came to my program for help, because they were at the end of the line, said it was pot that got them started.
Just saying.
And I’m sure the only reason they were around the other drugs is because they had to deal with the dealers. POT isn’t the problem, it’s the illegality.
ya once a drug dealer makes 5 bucks scamming you, he goes up to bigger drugs to scam you more money. Kind of like the scratch tickets. 1,2,3,5,10,20… why is there no 4 or 6 dollar ticket? States took a page out of drug dealers handbook.
Correlation does not prove causation. In order for your argument to be valid, you also have to look at it from the other side…”How many people that have tried marijuana became drug addicts?” That is where the argument fails.
Again, from NIDA http://www.drugabuse.gov/
How Widespread is Marijuana Abuse?
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)***
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2009, 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008. There was also a significant increase among youth aged 12-17, with current use up from 6.7 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in 2009, although this rate is lower than what was reported in 2002 (8.2 percent). Past-month use also increased among those 18-25, from 16.5 percent in 2008 to 18.1 percent in 2009.
Monitoring the Future Survey****
Results from the 2009 Monitoring the Future survey show, as in the past few years, a stall in the decline of marijuana use that began in the late 1990s among our Nation’s youth. In 2009, 11.8 percent of 8th-graders, 26.7 percent of 10th-graders, and 32.8 percent of 12th-graders reported past-year use. In addition, perceived risk of marijuana use declined among 8th- and 10th-graders, and disapproval of marijuana use declined among 10th-graders. This is a concern because changes in attitudes and beliefs often drive changes in drug use.
I would comment that if one individual becomes addicted it is a tragic event, and yes Soxsfan2424, I do agree with your basic tenant of research.
Marijuana is not an addictive substance. Please do some research.
You make YOURSELF an *addict* and therefore a *victim*. You choose your own destiny…has nothing to do with someone supplying you with the meds. You CHOOSE to continue this type of behavior. These people CHOOSE to be irresponsible and do childish things. No different than some fool that takes these prescription meds on a regular basis simply because the doctor prescribed it, so therefore they are going to abuse it. You don’t HAVE to take these meds..you don’t HAVE to if the doctor even prescribes them TO you. It is up to YOU if you choose to abuse it. Are we going to blame everyone else all our lives because of how we scr*wed up?!
Take some Ex-Lax and *CHOOSE* not to *have a bowel* movement.
There is no physical addiction to pot. There is to alcohol and cigarettes. Please become better informed.
It’s the people hooked on ignorance that I worry about.
Attorney Steven Peterson of Rockport represented Kierstead at the hearing. Outside the courthouse afterward, Peterson said that when he first visited Kierstead at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport on Saturday, his client was not in a real good state of mind. The attorney said Kierstead’s medical condition appeared to better Monday.
Typical Defense attorney. Everytime someone shoots or kills someone, the first thing they spout off about is his state of mind, must be crazy afterall. If you are a defense attorney, and you defend scum like this for a living, then may god have mercy on your soul, but i wouldnt count on it. They are ultimately the lowest life form known to human kind.
I am starting to like you…a little.
Well Said!
Feeling is Mutual Bush…LOL
This is a sad story no doubt,but the methadone programs are not at fault here,not proud of this but i was on a very high dose for a while years ago and it worked ! I don’t need it anymore , when you are on a maintenance program you can’t get high of it . Blame the man who pulled the trigger not the programs that help folks get clean.
That’s the way it is supposed to work. Thanks for your openness and hope your continued recovery goes well.
Bear, for every person like you who the methadone helps, there are ten others (including kids and relatives and innocent bystanders) who it hurts.
Just saying.
And yes I know what I’m talking about.
Hey we all know most who go to clinics are selfish and only care about themselves feeling good. They say screw the kids, when your 18 you can come to the clinic also to make you feel good.
I disagree, more like for every one that finds the willpower to walk away from the drugs the clinics are pushing there are hundreds that get hurt, and yes, I know what I am talking about. Just saying.
So who do you blame for your former drug problem? Do you admit it is everyone’s choice to try it and use it and get more of it and continue on and on for years? Or maybe you blame doctors for giving you the good stuff after a auto accident? Or maybe you blame grandma for not locking her meds in a safe that was bolted down? just wondering
Seems murder is getting to be a common every day event here in Maine these days.
Not anywhere NEAR as much as in other states. This is constant everywhere else. The drug problems ARE out of control in this state with such a low population of people though…hence why there are so many people that are born mentally challenged.
See even this guy gets it… everyone who uses should try this with their supplier…
PS Thank You Andrew Kierstead for doing the job our politically correct country couldn’t do. Keep another cancer of our country from getting out of jail in 2 months because he knows 3,000 druggies to snitch on.
He needs to take responsibility for his own actions. Its not anyones fault you’re hook on drugs.
Pills, huh? Pharmaceutical industry, making money with addictive substances that are expensive.
The deadbeat didn’t want to pay his bills so it is somebody else’s fault. He will wish he OD’d after he sits in jail a while; Charles Manson wannabe.