A 24-year-old South Portland man was arrested on Monday evening and charged with murder in connection with two fatal shootings in Westbrook witnessed by the victims’ two children.
Westbrook police officers responding to reports of a shooting at around 8:28 p.m. Monday saw the man, Marcel Lagrange Jr., shooting at a female in a parking lot off Bridge Street, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Officers pursued Lagrange down Main Street toward Armory Apartments. Lagrange then assaulted bystander 75-year-old Fred Roukey of Westbrook, but was tackled by several other people and was disarmed, Moss said. Roukey was transported to Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
While investigating the scene, officials discovered the body of 41-year-old Michael Hayter of Westbrook in a vehicle in the Bridge Street parking lot, along with the body of Brittney Cockrell, 37, of Westbrook near the vehicle. The couple had two children, an 11-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, who were inside the vehicle and had witnessed the shooting, but had not been injured, officials said.
An autopsy conducted by the state medical examiner on Tuesday morning determined that both Hayter and Cockrell had died of gunshot wounds, and their deaths were determined to be a homicide.
Lagrange was arrested on Monday evening and transported to Cumberland County Jail, where he was charged with two counts of murder. A murder conviction carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison in Maine. He was not granted bail, and will appear in court for arraignment at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Officials have not determined if there was a connection between Lagrange, Hayter and Cockrell.
