PARIS — A judge issued an arrest warrant Monday for a Rumford man after he failed to show up for his arraignment on a manslaughter charge stemming from the December shooting death of his brother.
Shay L. McKenna Oxford County Sheriff’s Office
Shay L. McKenna, 28, was due in Oxford County Superior Court to answer a grand jury indictment for manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
McKenna’s attorney, George Hess, told Justice Jennifer Archer that he wasn’t able to reach his client, but had spoken with McKenna’s sister.
She told Hess that three weeks ago she had sold the house where McKenna had been living and that he had to move out.
“He hasn’t left the state; he’s here,” Hess told the judge. “He’s just out in the woods someplace where he can’t be reached.”
Hess said McKenna, despite being aware he was supposed to attend all court hearings as one of his bail conditions, has “never been in trouble before. He’s very unsophisticated in that way.”
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea asked that Justice Archer issue a bench warrant for McKenna’s arrest and impose new bail at $75,000 cash.
His mother, Laureen McKenna, had posted a $200,000 bond when McKenna was initially charged.
Hess asked Archer to hold off McKenna’s arrest until Hess had a chance to speak with him. But Archer issued the warrant and set bail at the amount requested by prosecutors.
She said McKenna must have had advance notice of the sale of his sister’s home so he could make alternative arrangements. She said he should have kept in contact with his attorney and the court.
Justice Archer also ruled Monday to allow prosecutors to take a DNA sample and fingerprints from McKenna.
He was charged with manslaughter after his mother called 911 on Dec. 19, 2022, reporting that her son had been shot by her other son, according to a police affidavit.
Rumford police as well as Oxford County Sheriff’s Office deputies and emergency medical technicians arrived at 1676 Route 2 in Rumford where they found the mother applying pressure to the bleeding head of 23-year-old Drew McKenna, who was lying on the living room floor.
He had been shot in the back of the head, according to the affidavit. He was later flown by helicopter from Rumford Hospital to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Shay McKenna told authorities he had been in an argument with his mother and had decided to put away a gun he had with him, according to the affidavit.
He told authorities that his mother pushed him, prompting his father to get involved, resulting in a physical altercation.
McKenna’s younger brother got involved in an effort to “break it up and somehow the gun went off,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities identified the gun as a black Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun.
Shay McKenna later told a Maine State Police officer that he had been arguing with his mother about paying his older brother, Heath, for shoveling snow. McKenna said he had the gun in his hand at the time. He said he went down a hallway to put the gun in his father’s room when his mother pushed him.
Shay McKenna said his parents were holding onto him when Drew McKenna came into the hallway to try to break things up, according to the affidavit. Shay McKenna said his finger hadn’t been on the trigger when he was “bumped by someone and the gun went off,” according to the affidavit.
McKenna’s father, Mark, told police that his son had been angry at his mother because she had not gotten him a candy bar then argued with her about paying his brother for shoveling snow, according to the affidavit.
Mark McKenna said it was Shay who had pushed his mother.
He said he and his son, Drew, had been in the living room when they heard the argument. They “grabbed onto Shay’s arms to try to control him and calm him down,” according to the affidavit.
Shay McKenna had calmed down and he was freed. Mark McKenna looked to see where his wife was “then he looked at Shay, who Mark said had his arm raised above him to the ceiling with a black object in his hand and then brought his arm down to almost 90 degrees, but an upward angle and Mark heard the gunshot and saw the muzzle flash,” according to the affidavit.
Mark McKenna told police “he wished he never took his hands off Shay,” according to the affidavit.
No one had been holding or touching Shay McKenna when the gun fired, his father told police.
A search of Shay McKenna’s room later turned up six firearms, including four loaded “AR-15-style” rifles, a .22-caliber rifle and and a Titanic .32-caliber revolver, according to the affidavit.
Shay McKenna had the 9 mm handgun in his pocket when police arrived at the home, according to the affidavit.
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