Suspect in Winslow stabbing was retaliating against victim, police say

Lasalle Street in Winslow was the scene of a stabbing last week. Police initially said it was a random attack but they say the subsequent investigation determined a 21-year-old suspect had targeted another man. Morning Sentinel file

WINSLOW — A 21-year-old man who police say was arrested last week for repeatedly stabbing another person was retaliating for an assault that occurred against a member of his family, according to a police investigator.

Justin Boucher was arrested Jan. 18 on charges that include elevated aggravated assault and violating condition of release after authorities say he used a pocket knife to stab a 65-year-old man in the back, head, neck and arm as the older man walked down Lasalle Street that morning.

Police had initially said in the hours after the stabbing that it was a random act, but Winslow police officer Randy Wing, the lead investigator in the case, said Friday he now considers the stabbing “retaliatory.”

Wing said the 65-year-old man is the focus of a separate investigation by Waterville police on allegations he assaulted someone close to Boucher. Authorities in Waterville confirmed such an investigation is ongoing but declined to provide details.

That assault occurred early this month, Wing said.

Authorities do not believe the stabbing of the 65-year-old was premeditated, Wing said. Boucher, a Waterville native, was staying at a friend’s apartment on Clinton Avenue in Winslow when he recognized the older man as he walked by on the morning of Jan. 18.

Boucher then made a “sort of split moment decision” to confront the man, Wing said.

Boucher argued to investigators that he acted in self defense after he and the man had a physical altercation. But Wing said he did not believe there was any altercation and that wounds to the man indicated he was approached from behind.

Justin Boucher Photo courtesy of Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office

Following the stabbing, an anonymous call to police led them to the Clinton Avenue apartment where they found Boucher with a stab wound to his stomach.

Wing said it’s not clear how Boucher received the injury but he’s not ruling out the possibility it was self-inflicted.

The stabbing victim initially said he did not know who attacked him, Wing said, but after receiving medical treatment at a Waterville hospital the man said he did recognize his attacker and recalled his first name and that he “knew of (Boucher’s) relative.”

Boucher remains at the Kennebec County Jail where he’s being held without bail.

Court records show Boucher was indicted by a grand jury in June on charges of criminal threatening with a weapon and violating condition of release.

Also in June, Boucher was arrested on a charge of domestic violence terrorizing and violating condition of release, according to court records.

He pleaded not guilty to those charges in September.