AUGUSTA, Maine — A dispute over money led to an exchange of gunfire that injured one person in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Sunday, according to an affidavit filed in Augusta District Court.
“They all agreed the dispute at hand was in regards to money being owed between parties,” Augusta police Detective Brian Wastella wrote in a court document detailing the alleged incident that led to four people being arrested after two armed bystanders stepped in to help end the shootout.
Wastella noted in the probable cause affidavit that based on previous investigations, he knew the people arrested “to be involved in the illegal drug trade in the central Maine area.”
Kwiesha McBride, 45, of Harlem, New York; Frankie Dejesus, 27, of Rochester, New York; Diana Davis, 27, of Rochester, New York; and Samantha Tupper, 25, of Augusta were all charged in connection with the incident, according to a statement from Augusta police.
Paul Cavanaugh, deputy district attorney for Kennebec County, said Monday the identities of McBride and Dejesus have not been confirmed.
“We’re still trying to identify them,” he said after the four appeared in court. “We can’t find a driver’s license [or] address. We can’t confirm who they say they are.”
Police were called to the Wal-Mart parking lot shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sunday after receiving multiple calls about an exchange of gunfire.
All four suspects were sitting in vehicles parked next to each other when the gunfire broke out. Police received conflicting reports about who fired first, Wastella stated in the document.
McBride said he was sitting in the passenger seat of Tupper’s vehicle when “he observed Dejesus point a handgun out the driver’s side of his vehicle at him. McBride stated in fear of being shot, McBride drew his handgun and began firing at Dejesus,” the detective said.
Dejesus “claims after McBride got into Tupper’s vehicle, McBride pointed a firearm at him and began shooting,” the affidavit states. “Dejesus stated in fear of being shot, Dejesus drew his handgun and began firing at McBride. Dejesus denied shooting at McBride first.”
Police say after shots rang out, two legally armed bystanders who saw it unfold stepped in to help keep the situation from escalating any further, but there are no details about the actions taken by the bystanders or their names in the affidavit.
Messages left Monday for Augusta Police Chief Robert Gregoire for more details about those who intervened were not returned.
According to Portland television station WGME, CBS 13, one of the armed bystanders was Dan Chavanne of Washington, who was at the store with his wife and their children buying pool supplies. CBS 13 states that as they were backing out of their parking space to leave, they heard yelling followed by gunshots.
The Chavannes told CBS 13 that the group got out of their cars and started a fist fight after the gunshots were fired, which is when Dan Chavanne decided to reach for his own weapon, which he carries openly, and get out of his vehicle.
“As I approached, I let them know that I had a gun, to break it up,” Chavanne told CBS 13.
Another bystander took the same action, and the violence ended, according to the television station.
“The two we ended up detaining, once they saw they had two separate guns pointed at them, they were very cooperative,” Chavanne said, adding that his reaction probably saved lives.
“The way the fight was going, I have no doubt if myself and the other person didn’t intervene there would have been at least one body there,” Chavanne said, noting he has openly carried a firearm since he was 18 years old because he might encounter such a situation.
“If you’ve got the background, the experience and the training, there’s no reason not to carry,” he said.
Police told CBS 13 that the situation ended with the best possible outcome, but they don’t recommend bystanders intervening. Police said it is better to be safe and act as a witness.
While the armed bystanders kept guns trained on Dejesus and Davis, Tupper and McBride left the store parking lot. Police later found them at her father’s house in Augusta.
“McBride has several lacerations to the area of his head and was bleeding” but did not want to talk about how he was injured, the detective said in the affidavit.
Police said McBride was grazed by a bullet during the incident that left bullet holes in both vehicles. Police allegedly found a firearm in Davis’ Volkswagen and another on the ground.
State police, Hallowell and Winthrop police, and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office assisted Augusta police.
McBride is facing charges of reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated heroin trafficking.
“He was found with 42 grams of heroin on his person,” Cavanaugh said.
Dejesus is charged with reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault, Davis is charged with aggravated assault, and Tupper is charged with furnishing heroin and violating her probation.
All four were taken to the Kennebec County Jail.
Bail for McBride was set at $50,000, Dejesus at $25,000 and Davis at $5,000. No bail was allowed for Tupper, who was convicted in May of trafficking in cocaine in 2015, which earned her a four-year sentence with all but 45 days suspended and two years of probation, according to court documents.
During Davis’ first court appearance at the Capital Judicial Center on her aggravated assault charge, Jeff Towne, her attorney for the day, said she was “a victim of other parties,” when he asked that her bail be reduced to $1,000.
Deputy District Attorney Cavanaugh disagreed with Towne’s recommendation.
The affidavit states that after everyone got to Wal-Mart, they exited the vehicles and an argument started. The three arrested with Davis said she “was instigating this argument and was being told by others to stop arguing,” according to the affidavit.
Justice Robert Mullen decided to leave her $5,000 bail in place. Later in the day, he also decided to leave McBride and Dejesus’ bail in place as well.
When the judge told Davis that the crime was a Class B felony with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, she responded by saying, “I never had a gun.”
Davis, who told Mullen that she moved to Maine about six weeks ago, also asked to have her cellphone back, telling the judge she needed the phone to access phone numbers.
She was not asked to enter a plea since her case will be presented to the Kennebec County grand jury when it next convenes, Mullen said.