A 19-year-old Wells man accused of shooting his 2-year-old niece to death in a family fight will be held without bail, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Andrew Huber-Young is charged with murder in the death of Octavia Huber-Young at a home on Crediford Road on Saturday, according to a police affidavit. He appeared in York County Superior Court on Tuesday morning remotely from the York County Jail in Alfred wearing a mask and a hospital gown.
Justice Richard Mulhern ordered that Huber-Young have no contact with his father and his brother, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting, or the girl’s mother.
Huber-Young lived at the home with his parents, his brother and his niece.
Maine law says that defendants charged with murder are entitled to bail only under unusual circumstances. Huber-Young’s attorney, David Bobrow of Eliot, may request a bail hearing at a later date.
Bobrow said after the hearing that his client, “just a 19-year-old kid, is beyond despondent over this tragic accident.
“No words can describe how he feels,” the attorney said.
Huber-Young was not asked to enter a plea Tuesday because he has not yet been indicted by the York County grand jury. Assistant Attorney General Megan Elam, who is prosecuting the case, said she planned to present the case to the grand jury in the next two months.
The shooting was the culmination of a fight between Huber-Young and the girl’s father over a T-shirt, according to the police affidavit.
Huber-Young allegedly drove to the Wells Police Department after the shooting and told police, “I f****** up and accidently shot at my f****** family,” the affidavit said.
He told police the gun, a .22-caliber handgun, was in his car. Investigators recovered it.
The fight over his brother wearing Huber-Young’s T-shirt without permission escalated, and their father asked Huber-Young to leave, according to police. The two brothers allegedly continued to argue via text messages while Huber-Young was at a Sea Dogs game in Portland.
Huber-Young later returned to the home with a gun he had stolen from his father, according to the court documents.
He allegedly told police he was aiming for his brother and fired but did not intend to kill anyone, the affidavit said.
Huber-Young’s father was shot in the face and his brother suffered a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening, according to police.
Octavia Huber-Young, who was in the arms of her father, was shot in the left arm and the bullet went through her chest.
If convicted of murder, Huber-Young faces between 25 years and life in prison. If his attorney were to reach a plea agreement with the attorney general’s office for manslaughter, he would face up to 30 years in prison.
