By: David Deschesne
Fort Fairfield Journal, July 22, 2015
Local, County, State and Federal Law enforcement responded to a series of incidents that began late last Friday evening and ended with the shooting of 5 people, a kidnapped woman and the beating of another man in the Northern Penobscot through Southern Aroostook County area. Two men were shot and killed and two other men and a woman were shot and are being treated for their injuries. The shootings took place in several towns to include Benedicta and Lee.
The suspect is Anthony Lord, 35, from the Crystal and Sherman area. He is described as 5’9”, 260 lbs, blond hair & blue eyes. Lord was taken into custody on the afternoon of July 17.
The two men that are dead are 58 year old Kevin Tozier of Lee, who was shot at the woodlot in Winn and 22 year old Kyle Hewitt of Caribou, who was shot at the Irish home in Benedicta. Kyle was the boyfriend of kidnap victim, Brittany Irish.
Wounded were 55 year old Kim Irish, Brittany's mother, at her home in Benedicta; Carlton Eddy of Benedicta, shot while driving in his pickup truck near the Irish home, and 54 year-old Clayton McCarthy of Mattawamkeag, shot at the woodlot at Winn. The three are being treated for gunshot wounds and are expected to survive.
Assaulted was Cary Mayo of Silver Ridge Township, assaulted inside his home.
Shortly after 8:30 pm on July 16 there was a report of a barn on fire beside a house on the Aroostook Rd in Benedicta, the home of Brittany Irish and her parents. The fire Marshall’s office is currently in the process of evaluating that fire scene.
Early the next morning, at about 4:40 a.m., a home in Silver Ridge Township was broken into. A male was tied up and assaulted there. Guns and a pickup truck were stolen from the home. Shortly after 4:50 am there were several windows and a door shot out of his home in Benedicta.
Approximately 25 minutes later a call was received from the place where the barn was burnt on the Aroostook Road in Benedicta. Law enforcement responded and a male and female were found shot inside the house; the male was life-flighted to the hospital where he died. Lord was believed to have left the scene along with a 22 year old female identified as Brittany Irish, who knew Lord, of Benedicta.
At about the same time a report was received from a man that was driving by the fire scene. He reported that he was turning around in the driveway when the side window of his vehicle had been shot out and he had been struck in the shoulder with a bullet.
Police were looking for Lord and the stolen pickup truck when it was spotted by an East Millinocket police officer at about 5:50 a.m.. The truck fled when the officer tried to stop it and a high speed pursuit ensued. During the pursuit the suspect was firing shots from the truck at the officer, the officer was not injured. The truck also struck several vehicles as it attempted to elude the officer. The police continued to pursue but ended up losing sight of the vehicle on Rt. 157 in the Crystal area.
Police were searching the area for the truck when they received a report about a half hour later of a shooting at a woodlot on the Winn Road in Lee. Two men were shot while working at the woodlot, one of the males has since died.
A wood truck was reported stolen from that scene and was seen leaving the area. Law enforcement officers from the Maine State Police, Penobscot and Aroostook Sheriff Offices, Warden Service, Forestry Service as well as East Millinocket PD, Lincoln PD, Border Patrol and other Federal Agencies assisted with the search and apprehension.
Later that afternoon Lord and Irish were located in Houlton at her uncle's house and Lord was taken into custody without incident. Lord was interviewed by State Police detectives and transported to the Aroostook County Jail. Lord will initially be charged with 2 counts of Murder and one count of Kidnapping, he will likely be charged with more crimes as the investigation is completed. Lord will be making his initial court appearance this week. Lord has a criminal history and is on the Maine Registered Sex Offender list.
Due to connections with an employee at The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle, the hospital stepped up security and went into a “lockdown” mode.
“Just before 8:00 this morning TAMC initiated our incident command structure and instituted a modified lockdown at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital, as well as increased our security presence upon learning of the situation in northern Penobscot County. TAMC initiated lockdown following our own emergency procedures, as we train for, to ensure safety,” said Jason Parent, a spokesperson for TAMC. “We took this precautionary measure after learning that one of the victims had a connection to an employee who works here at the hospital. We had credible reason to believe the suspect could have attempted to reach the employee and above all wanted to ensure the safety of our patients, employees and visitors.
As the suspect was apprehended at approximately 2:00 pm this afternoon, we discontinued our lockdown status, provided follow-up communication to staff, and resumed normal operations. Although the threat to the organization at no point escalated to a critical status, we believe the early and coordinated action by all leadership and staff ensured the highest degree of safety and security for our patients and staff.
Parent says at no time during the day was patient care impacted or interrupted.
Police have located the truck that was stolen from the wood lot in Lee. It was found in Haynesville later that afternoon as well as the pulp truck, taken from the wood lot in Winn, which was located in Haynesville.
“Law enforcement wants to recognize the amount of help that the public has given during this search,” said Lt. Sean Hashey from the Maine State Police. “We have received numerous tips and information that has been a significant help. If the public has any further information please contact the Maine State Police in Bangor at 973-3700.”
There is still a significant amount of work to be completed in this case as the crime scenes are spread across a large geographic area. A team of detectives and evidence technicians will be working over the next several days to bring this case together.
