HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton man accused of fatally shooting two men and injuring four others in a two-county rampage that lasted 18 hours in July was indicted Friday by the Aroostook County grand jury.
Anthony Lord, 35, of Houlton and Crystal is accused of shooting five people, killing two of them, beating another man and kidnapping a woman he knew, according to police.
Lord was being held without bail at the Aroostook County Jail earlier but since has been boarded out to the Maine State Prison, a jail official said Friday.
Lord was charged Friday with murder, arson, two counts of attempted murder with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, elevated aggravated assault with a firearm, kidnapping, aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a firearm and two counts of theft of a firearm.
The Class A murder charge is connected to the July 17 shooting death of Kyle Hewitt, 22, in Benedicta, according to the indictment released by the Maine attorney general’s office. Hewitt was the boyfriend of Brittany Irish, the woman that Lord knew and is accused of kidnapping.
The arson count, also a Class A felony charge, stems from a fire he allegedly set to a barn owned by Kim and Richard Irish on July 16 in Benedicta.
Lord also was indicted last month in Penobscot County on other charges related to the alleged crime spree that took place in that county. The Penobscot County grand jury indicted him on one count each of intentional or knowing murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, eluding an officer and three counts of reckless conduct with a firearm.
The Penobscot County murder indictment was connected to the death of Kevin Tozier, 58, of Lee on July 17 at a woodlot in Lee.
Lord, who has a long criminal history and is a lifetime registrant on the Maine Sex Offender Registry, was arrested that day after he dropped to the ground in front of his uncle’s garage in Houlton and was then surrounded by Maine State Police.
The crime spree was extensive, according to police, and began with his setting the barn fire in Benedicta.
He then made his way to nearby Silver Ridge Township and attacked Kary Mayo, who was tied to a chair and beaten, according to police. Guns and a truck were stolen during the 4:40 a.m. July 17 break-in at Mayo’s home.
Lord then returned to the Irish home in Benedicta where, according to Friday’s indictment, he shot Kim Irish in the shoulder with a .22-caliber revolver “intending to cause her death.”
Hewitt was shot as he lay asleep on a couch in the Irish home, police reported, and he succumbed to his wounds a few hours later after being flown to a medical facility by a LifeFlight helicopter.
In the process of kidnapping Hewitt’s girlfriend, Brittany Irish, 21, Lord also shot at a man who drove onto the Irish property to check out the fire damage, according to police. The indictment states Lord was charged with his second count of attempted murder because he repeatedly shot at Carleton Eddy with a .22-caliber revolver in the neck, “intending to cause his death.”
After he left Benedicta, Lord was in a high-speed chase in Medway involving East Millinocket police, with Lord shooting at the officer, police reported. Shortly afterward, at 6:20 p.m. July 17, Lord pulled into the woodlot, shot Tozier and Clayton McCarthy, 54, of Mattawamkeag, police said last month.
Lord surrendered later that day at the home of his uncle Carl Lord Jr. in Houlton.
If convicted, Lord faces between 25 years and life in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a defendant convicted on multiple counts of murder may be sentenced to life in prison.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.
BDN writers Judy Harrison and Jen Lynds contributed to this report.