Bail was set Wednesday at $50,000 for the Bangor man charged in connection with a June 18 shooting at a Union Street residence that allegedly stemmed from a dispute over a woman.
Albe Lagasse, 51, is charged with elevated aggravated assault, a Class A crime, and with tampering with a witness, a Class C crime.
District Court Judge John Lucy said a high bail was necessary because he was concerned Lagasse might skip bail based on his previous failures to appear in court.
Lucy granted a motion by the Penobscot County District Attorney’s office to seal the affidavit in the shooting incident because the investigation is ongoing.
Neither the identity of the alleged victim nor his condition was released Wednesday.
The tampering charge stemmed from a phone call Lagasse allegedly made Tuesday from the Penobscot County Jail to his girlfriend, who is a witness in the shooting case. Lagasse, who was arrested Monday, allegedly told her not to talk to police and that he was sending members of “the club” to Bangor to “take care of witnesses,” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Saucier told Lucy.
The prosecutor said that Lagasse was referring to the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club to which Lagasse belongs.
Lagasse was not asked to enter pleas on either charge because he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. Prosecutors have three months to take the case to the grand jury.
Lagasse allegedly pulled out a gun and shot another man during an argument at about 11:30 a.m. June 18 at 1702 Union St., according to Bangor police. The other man then allegedly shot Lagasse in return.
The residence where the shooting took place is a few doors down from Sprague’s Nursery and Garden Center. When police arrived, officers found a man with a gunshot wound to his lower leg and learned that Lagasse had allegedly left the scene in a car.
Lagasse, who reportedly was shot in the face, did not seem to be wearing bandages Wednesday when he appeared before Lucy by video conference from the jail. Kaylee Folster, who acted as his lawyer for the first appearance, told the judge that Lagasse had told her he had been having dizzy spells but wanted to proceed.
It is unlikely Lagasse would be able to post such a high bail. Folster urged the judge to set bail at $10,000.
He is next due in court Aug. 13.
Lagasse’s criminal history includes convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated assault, simple assault, criminal threatening, terrorizing, theft and failure to appear.
If convicted in connection with the shooting, Lagasse faces up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. He faces a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of up to $5,000 if convicted of witness tampering.