LEWISTON — Two men killed each other in a knife fight on Blake Street on Saturday, reportedly after arguing about a girl at a local club. 

Neighbors on Saturday identified the pair as Alfred Jermaine Kelly, 29, and Bobbie Lee “Bootsy” Evans, 32. Both lived in Lewiston. Neighbors said Evans lived in the apartment building where the stabbing took place

Kelly had an extensive criminal history that included convictions for theft, disorderly conduct, criminal threatening, carrying a concealed weapon, drug trafficking, felony assault involving a firearm and felony robbery involving a firearm. Evans’ criminal history included a conviction for disorderly conduct in 2009.

The two are believed to have stabbed each other around 1:30 a.m. Both died within minutes of the altercation. One man was taken to Central Maine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead; the other died at the scene.

The two men fought at 176½ Blake Street, Lewiston police Chief Michael Bussiere said.

Bussiere, on overnight patrol, was the first to arrive at the scene after receiving multiple 911 calls. He said one of the men was in the street, bleeding profusely from his wounds. The other was in one of the apartments at the Blake Street address and was also bleeding heavily.

The Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to perform autopsies on Tuesday. 

Police said they believe the men knew each other, though they declined to officially identify the men at the request of the Medical Examiner’s Office. Some family members still had to be notified of the men’s deaths. 

Police also declined to identify the weapons used in the altercation, preferring to wait until officers had finished their work at the crime scene.

Lewiston and Maine State Police remained at the scene throughout Saturday, collecting evidence and talking to witnesses as friends and family gathered to console each other.

Leanne Parker, a next-door neighbor, said Evans lived in the second-floor apartment, but she believed the stabbing occurred in the first-floor apartment.

“I’ve lived here 12 years,” Parker said, “and never seen anything like this. I think it’s time to move out of this neighborhood.”

Parker said she was home at the time of the stabbing, but she didn’t hear anything and wasn’t aware of the crime until she woke Saturday morning and saw police had cordoned off the street. Parker said Evans was a real “down to Earth” kind of guy who was happy to help anyone.

According to Parker’s daughter, Natasha Garcia, who was a friend of Evans, he had recently broken up with his girlfriend and had moved from Lisbon Street to the Blake Street address a little over four months ago.

Garcia, who was visibly upset by her friend’s death, said she was told by another friend that the two men had quarreled at a local club Saturday and the fight carried over to the Blake Street apartment building.

Several friends said the men had been fighting about a girl.

Police said they did not expect any arrests in the case. The only two suspects involved in the stabbing were the men who died.

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