BANGOR, Maine — Prosecutors have accused one of two Greenville men of pulling the trigger in the fatal shooting of an unidentified man last weekend in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.
Troy T. McVey, 22, shot and killed a homeless man Sunday night, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. McVey and Colby R. Kronholm, 21, who both recently had moved from Maine to California, were arrested together and charged with murder early Monday about 15 minutes after the fatal shooting. The two are being held on $1 million bail and appeared in court Wednesday, where their arraignment was continued until Jan. 21, according to Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.
McVey also faces a gun charge, Risling said.
The shooting was reported about 11:55 p.m.and witnessed by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer, according to a news release issued by the district attorney’s office.
“Prosecutors said McVey is suspected of smashing car windows in the 1600 block of North Cahuenga Boulevard on Jan. 4. Shortly thereafter, McVey allegedly shot a man in his 50s multiple times,” according to the statement.
The off-duty police officer and citizens saw McVey smashing windows and then confronting the victim and demanding money, a Tuesday press release from the Los Angeles Police Department states.
“The off-duty officer and concerned citizens followed two suspects and directed Hollywood patrol officers to Wilcox Avenue where they took two suspects into custody,” the press release from the Police Department states.
McVey and Kronholm were at an apartment when they were arrested, and the two have not made statements to investigators, Los Angeles police Officer Jack Richter said Wednesday.
“They’ve clammed up. They are not talking to detectives at all,” the officer said.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics went to the scene of the shooting and took the victim to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. The identity of the victim was not known as of Wednesday afternoon, Richter said. He is described as a black male, about 55 to 60 years old.
“They ran the guy’s prints, and I haven’t heard from the detectives,” Richter said.
People in Maine who know Kronholm said they are shocked that he is accused of being involved in a homicide.
“It breaks my heart,” Bangor resident Laura Lyons said Wednesday. “I was upset all day. I’ve talked to everybody, and everybody is completely shocked. He would never do anything to hurt anybody.”
Attempts to reach McVey’s family on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Lyons said she doesn’t know McVey, but she knows the two Greenville men left the state together in the fall to move to California. McVey is a former Maine Maritime Academy student who started at the California Maritime Academy on Sept. 15, according to his Facebook page.
Lyons said she spoke to Kronholm by cellphone about a week ago and that “it sounded like he was having the time of his life.”
Another one of her friends got a text message from Kronholm about an hour before the shooting that was forwarded to her.
In the text, received at 10:31 p.m. Sunday, Kronholm spoke about enjoying his time in California, visiting the Sequoia Forest one day and Death Valley the next, and commented on the state’s beauty and tranquility.
Lyons said she is worried that her friend “got caught up in something bad. I know whatever it was, it was not his idea.”
She said the man she knows is kind.
“I’m surprised Colby didn’t stay there to help the [victim],” said Lyons, who met Kronholm three years ago and became friends.
“I think he was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Lyons said later.
Bangor photographer Jeff Kirlin, who worked with Kronholm about a year ago, said the same thing.
“The reason I was so blown away is because he was usually good with people,” said Kirlin, who worked with Kronholm at the Bangor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. “I can’t believe it.”
Kirlin also has been discussing the situation with others who know Kronholm, and he said all are surprised.
“We can’t picture him doing this, but we can totally see him in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the local photographer said. “He was just this nice, stoner kid.”
Los Angeles Police Department officials are asking the public for help identifying the victim and for eyewitnesses to the shooting. Those with information can call West Bureau Homicide investigators at 213-382-9470.
Both suspects have had brushes with the law in Maine.
Kronholm was convicted in Piscataquis County of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and sentenced to spend 24 hours in jail in 2011, according to BDN archives.
McVey was convicted in Piscataquis County of refusing to submit to arrest or detention and transporting liquor by a minor in 2011. He also was convicted of violating conditions of release and operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked driver’s license in 2011, according to BDN archives. He was ordered to spend five days in jail and pay restitution.
Lyons said she feels sorry for Kronholm’s family, especially his younger siblings.
“I hope they find out it wasn’t him and [detectives in California] realize what a good guy he is,” Lyons said.
She posted a Facebook message about writing character witness statements and already several of Kronholm’s friends have agreed to write letters.
“I wish he knew we’re all thinking about him and how much we care,” Lyons said.