A South Portland man accused of killing two people in front of their children in Westbrook on Monday night has a lengthy criminal history.
Marcel Lagrange, 24, Jr., who has been charged with two counts of murder, had prior convictions for charges of terrorizing, criminal threatening and assault dating back to 2018.
Lagrange allegedly shot and killed 37-year-old Brittney Cockrell and 41-year-old Michael Hayer, both of Westbrook, in a parking lot off Bridge Street about 8:30 p.m. Hayer was found dead inside a vehicle in the lot while Cockrell was found dead near it, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
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.
Westbrook police who witnessed Lagrange shooting at Cockrell pursued him down Main Street toward Armory Apartments, where he allegedly assaulted 75-year-old Fred Roukey of Westbrook before being tackled by several people and disarmed, according to Moss.
Lagrange was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he was treated for injuries not considered life-threatening.
He was being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland. He was scheduled to be arraigned at Cumberland County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.
He is charged with two counts of murder and is being held without bail.
A man working in the Arabic Market at the time heard children screaming in the back seat. That’s when he and another man got the couple’s 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter out of the car and tried to shield them from the bodies.
“He says a big problem is the mom and the dad being killed in the shooting. And the biggest problem is that the two kids had to witness this,” Omar Manahe said as he translated for his uncle, Asad Khlaif, who witnessed the shooting.