DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — One of the two cousins arrested last April on attempted murder and other felony charges was arrested Friday by the Maine State Police in connection with an incident that took place earlier this week outside the Piscataquis County courthouse, District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said Friday night.
Wilbur Joe Corson, 23, allegedly assaulted and terrorized a man who was a neighbor of Corson’s back when he and his 22-year-old cousin, Kyle Corson, were arrested last spring.
The alleged assault took place on Monday, just after jury selection for Corson’s upcoming trial, said Almy, who also is district attorney for Penobscot County.
The victim “just happened to be across from the courthouse” when he was jumped and threatened, Almy said. A second Corson was involved but it was not clear Friday night if that person was arrested and what prompted the assault.
“They attempted to pick a jury on Monday but too many jurors knew about the case or knew people involved,” Almy said of Monday’s jury selection. “So they did not have enough jurors. [I’m] not sure what the court will do next about getting an impartial jury.”
Corson is charged with assault, terrorizing and violating bail conditions, Almy said.
The original attempted murder charges resulted from a shooting that occurred in April 2014 when the Corson cousins were residing together in an apartment on Lancaster Avenue. The man who was shot, 49-year-old Reginald Melvin, also was arrested on an aggravated assault charge the following month.
Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer said last spring that the parties involved in the shooting had a criminal history, including a well-publicized street brawl in August 2013 in Guilford, in which one man was shot in the forearm and three others were sent to the hospital.