HOULTON, Maine — A Houlton man told a judge he acted in self-defense when he allegedly shot another man in the foot Wednesday.
Paul J. Stockley, 34, was arrested Wednesday afternoon after allegedly shooting Andrew Reeves, 38, of Linneus on Benn Hill Road in Hodgdon.
District Court Judge Robert Langner set bail Thursday at $10,000 cash. Stockley appeared in district court via Zoom from the Aroostook County Jail.
Charged with elevated aggravated assault, a class A felony, and reckless conduct with a firearm, a class C felony, Stockley remained in jail Friday morning, unable to post bail, according to Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
Defense Attorney Jeff Pickering asked the court to set bail at $1,000 cash, adding that he understood the reason for cash bail was because of the seriousness of the charges.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Chu detailed a long history of Stockley’s convictions relating to another individual living at the Hodgdon residence and asked for higher cash bail at $10,000.
“Mr. Stockley, over the course of the last decade, has on multiple occasions had convictions for violating protective orders involving the same individual,” Chu said. “And now we’re graduating to alleging the use of a dangerous weapon.”
Prior to Wednesday’s shooting, Aroostook County Sheriff deputies were called to the Hodgdon residence multiple times that week for trespass and disorderly incidents involving Stockley, according to the sheriff’s report.
Reeves said Stockley shot him in the foot through his boot outside the Benn Hill Road residence, according to Deputy Eric Corbin. The injuries were not life-threatening, police said.
Reeves told deputies he was outside the Benn Hill Road residence with dogs when he saw Stockley and another man pull up near the mailboxes, and he was sick of Stockley’s threatening behavior toward him and others living at the residence, Corbin said.
Stockley was reportedly yelling at Reeves, who told Corbin he grabbed a hatchet, pulled his car up to Stockley’s car, got out and smashed the hatchet through Stockley’s rear window, leaving the hatchet in the car, according to police.
Stockley allegedly pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot Reeves, police reported.
At the time of the arrest, police recovered a black Taurus G3 9mm handgun, two magazines and a holster belonging to Stockley and a hatchet belonging to Reeves.
During Stockley’s bail hearing, Langner said he had to consider the totality of events leading up to the alleged shooting and whether there is a risk of harm to a specific person.
“The best predictor of the future is the past. It has been suggested to me that you’ve got a history of violations of protection orders, bail conditions and other things. That doesn’t bode well for this court’s conditions,” Langner said.
Conditions of release include no contact with the victims at the Hodgdon residence, not returning to the residence and not possession of dangerous weapons, including firearms.
Stockley’s arraignment is set for 1 p.m. May 2 in Houlton.
If convicted, Stockley faces up to 30 years in jail and a $50,000 fine.
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