A New York man accused of killing a West Gardiner man three years ago has been found not guilty.
Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman on Thursday ruled that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jashawn Lipscombe, 23, pulled the trigger in the death of 33-year-old Joseph Tracy, according to the Kennebec Journal.
Prosecutors maintained that there was ample indirect evidence pointing to Lipscombe as the shooter, the Journal reported.
Tracy was found shot at the Home Place Inn in Waterville on June 6, 2020. He was airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland before being transferred to Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn, where he died two days later, according to the newspaper.
Authorities said Lipscombe had shot Tracy, who was reportedly an hour late to give Lipscombe a ride to Bangor International Airport.
Lipscombe was arrested in New York City in March 2021 and indicted for murder by a Kennebec County grand jury in May 2021. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a jury trial, leaving his fate in the judge’s hands.
