PORTLAND, Maine — Two men have been indicted on charges related to a 2012 triple-shooting that killed a South Portland man on a Portland street.
In the early morning of July 11, 2012, Matthew Blanchard and several relatives were walking near Congress Street and India Street when bullets were fired at them by two people who reportedly ran down the street. Blanchard, 24, died and two others were wounded.
A Cumberland County grand jury indicted Zachary T. Phach and Khang Tran with murder, aggravated attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy on April 9. The indictments are a major step in an unsolved homicide case that police have investigated for nine years.
Phach, 32, and Tran, 28, are already in custody at a Pennsylvania correctional center for other crimes, according to Portland police spokesperson David Singer. Both men face extradition proceedings that would bring them to Maine.
“We are pleased for the Blanchard family and this community that the Grand Jury has indicted these two men for their role in Matthew’s death,” Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said, adding that the reduction in police calls and crime reports since the pandemic began has allowed them to reallocate resources to unsolved cases.