Man who shot relative in Shirley in 2019 found guilty of attempted murder
By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff
A Superior Court judge on Monday, Aug. 23 found a Bath man accused of trying to kill a Shirley woman guilty on an array of charges stemming from the shooting more than two years ago, according to the Piscataquis County District Attorney’s office.
Justice William Anderson found Christopher Hallowell, 26, guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, eluding an officer and three counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
He found Hallowell not guilty of aggravated attempted murder, burglary and theft.
Assistant District Attorney R. Christopher Almy, who prosecuted the case, called the verdict in the four-day, jury-waived trial “well reasoned.” He said Hallowell most likely would be sentenced in the next month or two.
Defense attorneys Martha Harris and Kaylee Folster of Bangor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hallowell has been held at the Piscataquis County Jail unable to post $25,000 cash bail since his arrest on July 8, 2019, the day of the shooting.
He had a history of psychiatric problems and believed that his relatives were mistreating his great-grandmother, Almy said shortly after Hallowell’s arrest. The victim was married to one of Hallowell’s second cousins.
Hallowell shot and wounded and then beat the victim with the butt of a gun at about 6:45 a.m. after he waited hours for her to arrive at a horse barn at North Point Farm and Garden in Shirley.
The victim, who was shot once, was taken to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, where she was treated for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, though Hallowell fired at her at least eight times, Almy said Tuesday.
Hallowell shot at her with a .22 caliber rifle but after it jammed, he fired a .380 caliber handgun before beating her with its butt, the prosecutor said.
After the shooting, Hallowell was arrested in Albion by a Maine State Police trooper after a short chase.
Hallowell faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the most serious charge of attempted murder.