BUCKSPORT, Maine — Police have issued summonses to two men in connection with what they described as the unintentional shooting last month of a minivan parked in a local resident’s driveway.
Shaw Smith, 29, of Orland and Ryan Rossignol, 24, of Brewer each were charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony, and criminal mischief, a Class D misdemeanor. A conviction for the Class C charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $5,000, and a conviction on the misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.
The men were identified after a police investigation that involved members of the Bucksport Police Department, the Maine Warden Service and the Maine State Police. The investigation began after homeowner Lori Stubbs noticed a big bullet hole in the side of her minivan and another mark from a bullet that had ricocheted off the back of the vehicle on the afternoon of Sunday, May 24. The bullet hole and mark frightened her, especially because her 10-year-old daughter had been riding her bike in the family’s Bucks Mills Road driveway that afternoon while the family heard round after round of gunshots in the not-too-far distance.
“This is a significant event,” Sgt. David Winchester of the Bucksport Police Department said Tuesday. “It could have been much worse. We’re just thankful nobody was hurt and that we were able to get some results for the Stubbs family.”
He said he did not yet want to name the type of gun the men were using or where they were when the shots were fired that day. Winchester did say that a game warden did trajectory work to determine from where the shots were fired.
“This was not an intentional act. I don’t think anybody was setting out to shoot at the Stubbs residence,” Winchester said.
At the end of May, Chief Sean Geagan said he believed it was likely the gunshots came from people who were doing target practice.
Stubbs said Tuesday that she is certain the shots were fired about a mile from her house, from a field that is off State Route 46. Police have not identified the owner of the property or charged him with any crime.
“We are pleased the Maine Warden Service, Bucksport police and Maine State Police acted swiftly and worked collaboratively to find the persons responsible and remedy the situation,” she said.
Still, Stubbs and her family are hoping there will be more action as a result of the gunshots that rattled her family and left their van needing $1,200 worth of repairs.
She also is hoping officials will prevent the property owner from allowing target shooting on his land.
“We’re not only looking for punishment, we’re looking for the [Hancock County] district attorney to issue a court-ordered injunction to shut down that property for shooting,” she said. “There needs to be closure to this story.”