SMYRNA, Maine — The accomplice of a man shot to death by police Sunday in connection with an armed home invasion the suspected pair committed in Bridgewater knew his alleged victims, according to a Maine State Police continuation report filed in Houlton Superior Court.
Timothy Slaton, 48, was taken into custody at his home Sunday and was charged with burglary and criminal threatening with a firearm.
In his report, Trooper Aaron Turcotte said he responded to a call in Bridgewater just after 2 p.m. Sunday, when a woman called 911 to report “a male subject had barged into her residence with a gun.”
The woman told Turcotte that Slaton, reportedly armed with a handgun, had kicked in the door to her mobile home earlier that day, threatened to shoot her and demanded to know the location of one of her relatives.
The woman said she told Slaton her relative was not in the home, grabbed a hammer and demanded Slaton leave.
The woman also told Turcotte that when Slaton was in her home, Alan Gillotti Sr., the 52-year-old Ludlow man shot by police later that day, was standing just outside her front door but did not come inside.
After the two men left, the woman said she called her relative, who informed her the two men had already been to the relative’s Houlton home and kicked in a door to gain entry, according to the trooper’s affidavit. No further information provided in the affidavit disclosed what happened at the Houlton residence of the relative or why Slaton and Gillotti were looking for that person.
The woman in Bridgewater gave a partial description of a white van or sport utility vehicle the two men were in when they left her home. By 3 p.m., a white van had been spotted by state police in Slaton’s driveway, according to Turcotte.
Turcotte, Trooper Timothy Saucier and Sgt. Joshua Haines arrived a little after 3 p.m. at Slaton’s home in Smyrna. Soon after their arrival, Slaton came outside and spoke to the officers. When asked how long he had been home, Slaton told Turcotte he had just arrived home a short time ago, according to the affidavit. He then told the trooper his van had been stolen and used overnight to steal marijuana from Gillotti, Turcotte reported. Slaton told the trooper he did not know who had taken his van.
Slaton admitted to driving to the home of the alleged Bridgewater victim Sunday afternoon to look for her relative, but he said Gillotti was not with him and he denied having a gun at the time, Turcotte wrote. Slaton added he left when asked to do so by the woman. Slaton also denied having any guns in his home and initially would not allow police inside.
When Turcotte spoke to Slaton, Haines and Saucier left to search for Gillotti at his home on Smyrna Town Line Road in Ludlow.
Soon after, while Turcotte was still talking to Slaton, the trooper received a call from a dispatcher at the Regional Communications Center in Houlton, who informed him about shots being fired at Gillotti’s residence and requesting Turcotte go to the scene to assist.
When Turcotte arrived at the residence, according to the affidavit, he said he saw Haines with his gun drawn and a body lying in the doorway.
Haines, Turcotte and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Deputy Erica Pelletier cautiously approached the home to verify no one else was inside.
Officers identified the dead man as Gillotti, and Turcotte said he saw a black semi-automatic handgun “just inches from Gillotti’s right hand.”
Slaton was arrested later that afternoon and was charged with burglary and criminal threatening with a firearm.
Slaton made an initial appearance Tuesday morning in Presque Isle District Court via videoconference from the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton, where he remains incarcerated. Judge Bernard O’ Mara set bail at $5,000 cash or $25,000 surety.
As is standard with all police-involved shootings, the Maine attorney general’s office is investigating the incident, and Haines has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Details about the confrontation between Gillotti and police have not been disclosed.
The investigation into Haines’ use of deadly force is ongoing, according to a Friday email sent by Timothy Feeley, special assistant with the Maine attorney general’s office.
“We will release a report when it is completed,” Feeley said. “These investigations can take four to six months to complete. It is our practice not to comment on the incident while the investigation is ongoing.”
