WEST PARIS — A Maine State Police trooper was justified in using deadly force in a shooting here in June, the Maine Attorney General’s Office concluded in a report released Tuesday.
On the evening of June 8, Trooper Jason Wing shot James Reynolds, 18, in an encounter on Roy Road in West Paris after responding to a report of a suspicious person.
According to the report, Reynolds pointed a hunting rifle directly at Wing before the trooper shot him three times, in the head, arm and leg, gravely wounding the teenager.
“Trooper Wing actually and reasonably believed that deadly force was imminently threatened against him, and it was reasonable for Trooper Wing to believe it was necessary to use deadly force to protect himself from the imminent threat of deadly force by Mr. Reynolds,” the report concludes.
When Wing responded to the area, he was told the suspicious person, identified as Reynolds, was a known burglar who was prohibited from being on the road. He was also given a description of Reynolds.
In a subsequent call to police, a mental health worker reported that Reynolds’ mother had reported him missing from the West Paris home they shared. Reynolds’ mother also reportedly told the mental health worker that her son suffered from mental health disorders, was a danger to himself and had attempted suicide in the past, according to the report. This information was also relayed to Wing, the report said.
Within half an hour of the original call, Wing observed Reynolds near a shed on the grounds of a seasonal residence on Roy Road. When Wing got out of his cruiser, the man disappeared behind the shed and reappeared with objects in both hands. Reynolds was standing about 80 feet away from Wing, and the officer did not know exactly what the object was, according to the report.
Reynolds refused to obey a command from Wing to drop the objects and then displayed a rifle “scooped under his arm” and pointed at Wing, the report said.
After seeing the rifle, Wing drew his .45-caliber gun, sought cover near his cruiser and issued several other commands for Reynolds to drop the weapon. According to the report, Reynolds refused to heed Wing’s commands and leveled the weapon at the trooper and Wing discharged three rounds at Reynolds.
During their investigation, detectives from the Attorney General’s Office found that Reynolds was brandishing a .35-caliber lever-action rifle during the confrontation. Although Reynolds was in possession of ammunition for the gun, it was not loaded and had a locking mechanism on it, according to the report.
Reynolds was treated at the scene by Wing before being transported to a hospital by helicopter, according to the report.
The owner of the seasonal residence confirmed that the rifle, as well as other items in Reynolds’ possession at the time of the confrontation, had been stolen from the residence, according to the report.
Attempts by the Attorney General’s Office to interview Reynolds were prevented by his mother and later legal counsel, according to the report.
“It is beyond the scope of this report and beyond the authority or expertise of the Attorney General’s Office to speculate on Mr. Reynolds’ motivations, his state of mind or the medical or psychological underpinning of his actions at the time he confronted Trooper Wing on June 8, 2013,” the report said.
A representative from the District Attorney’s Office contacted Tuesday afternoon declined to comment on the case and would not confirm if charges were being brought against Reynolds.
Robert Laskoff, the Lewiston attorney who is representing Reynolds, also declined to comment Tuesday, stating he had yet to meet with his client to review the AG’s report.
This is the second shooting by Wing. In 2008, the Attorney General’s office found him justified in the use of deadly force when he fired three shots into a pickup truck driven by Lawrence Lapoint of Mexico. Lapoint was driving toward officers after allegedly trying to kill his domestic partner. No one was injured in that incident.
pmcguire@sunjournal.com
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