Millinocket man pleads guilty after shooting Exeter home with stolen gun

By Ethan Andrews, Bangor Daily News Staff

Scott Lynch Jr., of Millinocket pleaded guilty in federal court on Dec. 13 to illegally possessing a gun after errantly shooting at a residence.

Lynch was barred from having a gun because he was a convicted felon, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.

According to court records, in November 2020, the Maine Warden Service fielded a complaint about shots being fired at a residence in Exeter. 

A warden found bullets lodged in the walls, and the homeowners said they heard gunshots from across the pond and saw two people wearing hunter’s orange. 

The warden found Lynch Jr. and a 14-year-old in a parked truck, where Lynch admitted hat that he had been target shooting in the woods and told the warden that he was a convicted felon. 

In the woods where they had been shooting, the warden found .22 caliber and .308 caliber casings.

The warden went to the 14-year-old’s house to get the .22 rifle and overheard the child tell his mother that there was another rifle hidden in the house, which was retrieved by the mother. 

Additionally, the warden recovered two guns, a .308 caliber rifle and a 9mm pistol, that had the serial numbers removed. The guns and the case they were in were found to have been stolen from a vehicle in Millinocket. Lynch told investigators that he had traded a dirt bike for the guns.

Lynch faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.