Guns in America, Ctd.
Two teenagers are dead, the mother of one of the teens wounded, after a dispute with their 74-year-old landlord about snow removal and parking in Bangor, Maine.
The bodies of Derrick Thompson, 19, and his girlfriend, Alivia Welch, 18, were found inside a Sodokis Road house on Saturday evening after the standoff ended at about 10 p.m., Sgt. Mark Holmquist of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit said Sunday afternoon.
James Pak, 74, who owns and resides in the two-unit Cape Cod-style house, has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths and could face additional charges after the state Attorney General’s Office reviews the case, Holmquist said.
Pak is being held at York County Jail in Alfred and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in York County Superior Court either Monday or Wednesday, depending on the availability of a judge, he said.
Holmquist said Pak does not appear to have a criminal history in Maine.
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Thompson’s mother, Susan Johnson, 44, who also was shot, was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she is in stable condition, Holmquist said.
Johnson’s 7-year-old son, who was hiding in a bedroom at the back of the apartment, was uninjured and is staying with family members, he said.
Holmquist said that Biddeford police initially were called to 17A Sodokis Road around 6 p.m. to look into a report of a dispute between Pak and Thompson.
“The issues specifically identified that day were snow removal in the yard and cars not being moved” during Saturday’s snowstorm, Holmquist said. He said the family had been renting from Pak since October.
The officers left shortly before 7 p.m. after determining that no crime had been committed and that no serious threat had been made by Pak, the sergeant said.
“Derrick Thompson told police officers that he did not feel threatened by Mr. Pak and his actions,” he said.
Three minutes later, the officers were called back to the scene after Susan Johnson reported that shots had been fired, Holmquist said.
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