AUBURN — A Connecticut man pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to a manslaughter charge from a fatal shooting at the former DeCoster egg farm in Turner.

Michael Warbin, 44, of Franklin, Conn., will remain free on a $20,000 unsecured bond, a judge ordered in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

Justice MaryGay Kennedy also ordered Warbin not to possess or use dangerous weapons and said he would be subject to random searches.

An Androscoggin County grand jury had handed up an indictment of Warbin on the charge, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

According to the indictment, Warbin fatally shot Manuel Adame, 57, of Lewiston on Aug. 19 using a Smith & Wesson rifle equipped with a scope. The shooting occurred at Moark egg farm, formerly owned by Jack DeCoster and now owned by Land O’Lakes. Adame had been a worker at the farm for several years, police said.

At the time of the shooting a Moark spokeswoman said, according to police, the shot was fired by a pest control professional working at the facility under contract.

According to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, that worker — Warbin — was shooting a .22-caliber rifle to kill rodents and stray chickens inside one of the farm’s chicken barns that was being cleaned out.

Adame died from a gunshot wound to the chest and neck, according to the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Warbin is not an employee of Moark but was working at the farm under contract, according to a Moark spokeswoman.

Copy the Story Link